Brothers and Sisters
by TorvalVT
Summary: No HoO. Percy is ready for a perfectly normal summer at camp when his father shows up and sends him, Nico and Thalia on a wild goose chase to find their siblings and other Demigods. Previously called Brothers. Please review!
1. Arival

**Ride back to Camp**

Percy Jackson was elated. It was the end of the school year, he hadn't gotten kicked out of school because of something that he hadn't done, and he was finally going back to camp half blood. He had been looking forward to this moment all year, and now he was in the car with his mom and Paul. They had left as soon as finals were over, and Paul was even able to get some time off to accompany Percy to camp. Because it was a short day, it was only the middle of the afternoon as they flew down the road to camp. The conversation was light and jovial, for Sally had surprised Percy with lunch at a somewhat fancy restaurant, and they were all in a good mood.

"So, what are you and Paul going to do with me gone?"

"Well, we were thinking that without you to interrupt us, we would have a romantic dinner at this restaurant downtown."

"Wait, me interrupting you?" said Percy, "when have I ever interrupted?

"Well, there was that time we were trying to have a romantic dinner when you and Annabeth burst through the door kissing so much I almost puked all over the candles." replied Paul with much distaste in he voice

Percy, remembering that particular event, turned a shade of red similar to a fire truck. " I didn't know that you were home, much less having a romantic dinner."

"Percy, that is no excuse to come in without knocking. Especially since Annabeth had just about taken your shirt off by the time you had gotten in." stated his mother.

At this point, Percy was a dark shade of maroon and eager to get off the subject. "So Paul, how did the finals go for you? Have any troubles with your students?"

"They were fine, except for this one kid who kept on shifting in his seat while he was taking the test. But other than that, it was fine."

"Who was the kid?" Percy asked quizzically. After a smirk from Paul, realization dawned on him.

"Oh wait, you meant me! You know about my ADHD and Dyslexia! Plus Macbeth kept on reminding me to much about Cronus." Percy exclaimed in an indignant tone while trying to block out the sounds of his mom snickering.

"Yes, yes, I know Percy" Paul said with the smirk still on his face, "You did great."

Percy continued to fume at that comment for a couple of minutes before Sally said, "So how are things going on with Annabeth?"

Relieved at the change of topic to his girlfriend, he started to rant about her. "She is doing good. She is really enjoying the whole 'Architect of Olympus' deal. Whenever we hang out, she is always going on and on about the different thing that she has been creating. She keeps on asking me if I can come up to Olympus, but I have promised her that I would only see it after she was completely finished." He continued to talk about Annabeth for four more minutes before he noticed his parents silently giggling in the front seat.

"Hey!" he said, frowning, "I'm talking about my girlfriend here."

"yes honey, you have for the last ten months whenever you can" gasped Sally between fits of giggles. "I think that we know Annabeth better than ever before."

Percy scowled, his green eyes brooding. "What's wrong with loving everything about my girlfriend?" he pouted.

"Nothing Percy, just that you talk about her so much that I sometimes look over expecting to see here there." chuckled Paul.

At this comment Percy just scowled more and looked out the window, thinking thoughts of Annabeth. His parent just smiled and started talking among themselves about what they would do while he was gone.

In no time, Paul was jarring his stepson out of his daydream to announce that they had arrived at camp. Percy immediately perked up and rushed out of the car to get his things. His possessions for the summer included some money he had earned life guarding, a few cloths, his trusty pen/sword Riptide, and the wristwatch shield Tyson had made for him.

"You all set?" his mom asked him

"Yep"

"Are you sure?"

Sigh "Yes mom"

After a few moments watching her fret, Percy gave her a quick hug to ensure that she would not worry about him. After a few moments, he realized that she had started to cry. Percy asked, "Mom, are you really crying?"

She backed away, and it was evident by the tears leaking from her eyes that she was indeed crying. Paul put his arm around her and comforted her as she said, "Y-yes, I am. I just realized that this is the very first time that I have dropped you off to camp, that's all"

He hugged her again. "Don't worry about me. Ill be safe." And with that he ran across the boarder to camp.


	2. The Truth About Siblings

I was practically flying down the hill as I raced to the big house. This was it. This was the summer that I had been waiting for. No Titans, no vengeful gods, and certainly no quests. I had already saved the world once, right? So that must give me a pass to be free of questing for at least one summer.

As I ran, I reviewed the big plans for what I was going to do this summer. First, I had asked Tyson to help me with expanding our cabin. We both thought it was just to plain compared to some of the newer cabins. We had asked dad first, of course, but we hadn't received a reply back yet. Personally, I think he would love the improvements we were planning to make. There was the thirty foot aquarium, the underground pool, and the workshop for Tyson and his friends. Second, I had big plans for capture the flag. My powers over water had greatly improved, and I planned to use these new abilities to the fullest. The invincibility would also help, but I had heard that Hecate cabin had created a spell that dulls the effects of the invincibility.

My train of thought was disturbed by my arrival at the porch of the big house. As usual there was Chiron (in wheelchair form) and Mr.D, but there was a third, unknown person who I did not recognize. It didn't help that the stranger had his back to me. But based on his appearance, I had a good guess on who it was. He was wearing khaki shorts, a button down t-shirt with parrots on it, and a fly-fishing hat. Leaning against his chair was a fishing pole that seamed to glimmer in the light.

Chiron looked up from the card game they were playing and smiled warmly at me. His beard was short for the summer, and his hair was a lighter from the hours in the sun teaching. His inviting eyes gleamed with a look that oozed quest. "Percy my boy! As always, its good to see you in good health."

"Of coarse he is in good health. He is my son." grumbled the "stranger".

"And I thank you for that dad." I replied as I sat down across from him. "So what bring you to our humble camp? Possibly to approve of the renovations we have planned for the cabin?"

Dad's eyes seemed to grow a little bit sadder after my question. My ADHD made me notice all the small things that were different about him from two summers ago. The Titan war had left him drained. He looked better than last summer, but he still sported grey streaks in his hair and more wrinkles than before. He also just looked worn out from lack of sleep.

Sighing, he placed down his cards and looked me strait in the eyes. "I have come to camp to talk with you Perseus. I have a...quest of sorts for you."

This time it was my turn to sigh. "Who is in trouble now?" I might as well come back expecting a disaster that needs to be resolved by the solstice.

Poseidon's roaring laughter caught me completely by surprise. "Good heavens child! Why would I be playing cards quietly if someone important was missing?"

I blushed lightly at the comment but chucked along with Chiron. "I don't know sir, but you could possibly be here so that Chiron had someone good to play against?"

Mr. D shot me a deathly glare. "For your information brat, I mean camper, I am the one currently in possession of the golden laurel, partially because my Uncle is soooooooo bad at cards. No offence, of coarse."

"None taken nephew." replied my father. He looked back at me with his sea green eyes. "No, no one is missing or captured. This is more of a...family retreat. This would be a great way for you to hone your skills and your ability to survive in the real world. Now, do you remember what I said to you at the end of last summer?"

I felt a tingle go up my spine. I had thought about that one line all winter, wondering if he had been pulling my leg or if he had been since. "Are you talking about siblings sir?"

He nodded his head sadly. "Yes. You do have a few more siblings other than Tyson. Unfortunately, non of them are in very good positions right now. I need you to go and bring them back to camp, along with some of the other demigods that need protection from a senior councilor."

That news hit me like a pile of bricks. I had siblings? And three at that? Did my dad not love me or something? Did he feel the need to have more children because I did not live up to his expectations? Chiron smiled kindly at me. "Percy, I am sure that you father is not disappointed in you. In fact I think that he is proud enough of you that he is entrusting a large contingent of demigods to you. Am I right lord?"

I looked back to dad and saw only pride and love in his features. "I could not have said that any better myself."

Feeling a bit better, I reluctantly asked a question that was nagging me. "What kind of danger are they in? Jealous Uncles? Raving hellhounds?" The look his face lost all of its pride and changed into one of foreboding.

"Unfortunaly, no. Things much worse than hellhounds or my brothers plague them. I can not divulge what at the current time, for you will have to confront this challenge when you find out what it is."

I mulled this new imformation around. It would take a while to get where ever I needed to get to and back, so I would be gone for about a month or so. That was a month without Annabeth, but I could always IM her, so no loss there. Our renivations could wait, but I was hoping to finnish them this summer. No matter, family first. "Yes, Ill do it."

At this my father smiled and clapped his hands. All of a sudden, I felt like I was dissipating into mist. The last thing I heard was, "Good luck! And I approve of the new Cabin."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The smell of the bush I was hiding in filled my nose. I heard a snap off to the left and imeadietly pulled my bow tighter. After waiting a few seconds, I whirled around and stood up; taking aim at the deer I had been tracking. With a few quick shots, I brought down the creature. I walked over to it and knelt. After taking the arrows out of the heart, I said a prayer to my mistress and one of thanks to the deer.

After stringing the animal up on a pole to carry, I started walking back to the hunter's camp. While I walked, I contemplated the last year since the war last year. After healing on Olympus and avoiding Apollo, we had headed out to the Great Plains to hunt bison. Once a month had passed, we moved to Canada and hunted moose and bears. We stayed there until January, when we moved down to Florida and shot wild fowl. We were now in Wisconsin, getting ready for the annual deer hunting festival.

As I was walking, I stumbled upon an abandoned park. Well, not totally abandoned. Sitting on a bench was a man who looked like he belonged at a meeting, not a park. He had dark grey streaked hair and a matching beard. He's wearing what looks like a very costly suit. And as I get closer, he turns his head and looks directly at me. My breath gets caught in my throat. Hurriedly looking around for mortals, I trot over to him. When I get there, I glare at him and spit out what I was thinking. "What are YOU doing here?"

My father grumbles something about eternal teenagers. 'Typical dad' I think to myself while rolling my eyes. "Do I really have to repeat myself? What the hell are you doing here?"

"Young lady, that is no way to treat your father." he scolds. Thunder rolled gently in the distance. I just roll my eyes again.

"I can use any tone of voice with you, dad." I vehemently replied. He was just as cold hearted as I remembered. I almost wish Poseidon had sired me so that I would at least have a decent father. But then Percy would be my brother, and that would suck. "You still haven't told me why you have decided to grace me with your presence."

At this comment he almost seemed to look a bit less imposing and more frightened. 'Did my words really make him frightened? I hope I don't have to go and kill a monster for him. That's my cousins job.'

Zeus squirmed in his suit as he looked away. After a few moments he rumbled, "Sit down so that we can talk about something."

Grudgingly, I set my catch down and sat next to him. He turns toward me with a slight scowl and starts to explain.

"As you know we Gods frequently have...many children. For a while now, you have been unaware of the fact that I have sired more children. Now I know you must be mad, but I need you to go and gather them up to bring them back to camp."

As he finished, he looked at me almost pleadingly. But I felt no remorse towards him, no pity, only hate and rage. 'How could he have done this? Did he not learn his lesion with me and Jason?' But on the other hand, there were my newly revealed siblings to think about. They were probably all alone, targeted by monsters.


	3. What Now?

I could feel my molecules rearrange and my vision came back to me. I realized that I was standing on a really long pier, and waves battered the sides of the pier so much that it was swaying slightly.

Next I saw two people standing right next to me, looking just as confused as I felt. My heart lifted at the fact that my two favorite cousins were with me. When they saw each other, and me their faces split into grins almost as big as mine. We quickly huddled together into our customary hug, and then broke apart.

Thalia looked the same as before, silver circlet in her dark spikey hair, electric eyes gazing back at me. Nico however, looked like he had grown another inch taller, and he was showing signs of his first facial hair. His pale-ish olive skin stood out against his all black attire, and he almost matched the clouds that swirled above us.

Thalia was the first to speak. "What are you doing here?" she asked a bit quizzically.

"My dad sent me. You?"

"Same" she replied.

Nico looked confused. "My father just told me that I had siblings and whisked me here."

My jaw dropped. So did Thalia's. "YOU have siblings to? I thought it was just me." we both said at the same time.

Thalia frowned. Her eyes turned stormy at what our cousin had said. "He just announced that you had siblings and transported you here? That's not what happened to me."

"Yea, same with me. I was just returning to camp when my dad asked me to go on this 'Quest'."

Nico brooded on this for a second before he muttered audibly "Stupid father."

Thalia nodded at this. "Yea, my father was almost as bad. I mean, he at least asked me before bringing me here, but I have a feeling that he would have brought me here even if I had refused."

"MY dad explained the situation to me and gave me the CHOICE to go on this quest." I said smugly, earning the glares of my relatives. 'I am so glad that I got the good dad.' Then I noticed something. I had no idea where we were. Then I realized that I had none of my things that I had brought to camp. And with a final pat down of my pockets I felt a chill go down my spine: Riptide was not there. All of a sudden, I felt bare and exposed without my killer ballpoint pen. "Hey, do you guys have any of you things?"

After a bit of a frantic search, we found that none of us had any possessions except for the clothes on our backs. Nico was even missing his silver skull ring, which he did not look too happy about. "Well now what? We have noting useful on us, no idea about where we are, and a bunch of sibling that we have no idea where they are."

Almost as soon as Nico had spoken, Thalia noticed something a bit farther up the boardwalk. We walked over to investigate, and found three backpacks and a tube. The packs were obviously for us, as one was sky blue, one sea green, and the last one was pitch black. We looked inside our packs, but all we found to our dissapointment was a spare change of clothes. I decide to look at the tube, and upon inspection found out that it was a fly fishing pole. Thalia found a hunting bow with regular arrows in her pack, and Nico found a credit card in one of the pouches in his backpack.

We also found a map of the United States. On it there were multiple red dots, and three blue dots near a red one in California.

"What the hell is this! A normal bow? No celestial bronze arrows? What idiot gives a hero something that can't kill monsters? How will I defend myself?" Thalia screamed, leaving the us clutching our ears.

"Thalia! Shut up! My 'gift' was even more useless than yours. How do I defend myself with a fishing pole?"

"How about we use the POWERS that we inherited from our fathers?"

Thalia took a deep breath and became calmer. Then she got a puzzled look on her face as she looked behind me down the pier. I turned around and saw two people, one an adult woman, one a young boy. They were about a hundred feet away, but I could clearly see that the woman was forcefully dragging the boy. As she got closer, I saw that his hands and feet were bound, and she was ranting. His green eyes were wild with fear, and he was crying as he pleaded with his mother, "Please mother, please let me go! What have I done to upset you now? What can I do to make it right? I will do any thing, just let me go! Please!"

As I watched, I saw her heave him up. "Nothing you do can get you untied! Nothing! I should have never fallen in love with that man. All he gave me was you, a useless whelp! Well screw him! He is just going to have to take back what is his!" And with that she hauled him over the edge, down ten feet into the churning waters.

My instincts kicked into high gear. I jumped over the edge, diving into the water not far from the boy. He was already under, so I also went under and willed the currents to carry me towards him. I reached him before he had sunk over ten feet, and grabbed him around the waist. Then, willing the currents around me, we shot straight up onto the pier.

Thalia and Nico were already waiting for me, the woman gone. For the first time, I studied the boy. He had brown, coppery hair, medium length. He looked about eight years old, and had deep green eyes. I noticed that he was completely dry, and then I noticed the glowing trident floating above his head.

"Well, we found my first brother."


	4. Washed Up

**A/N: Thank you to those who have reviewed my story so far. As a reward, here is another chapter! Enjoy! P.s. I don't own Percy Jackson or any of its characters.**

Thalia P.O.V.

I could see the family resemblance between the big and little seaweed brain. Both had green eyes, though little's were darker and more sunken, staring back at me forlornly. They say the eyes are the windows to your soul. If that was true, I could only guess what that woman had done to him. His hair was a copper brown color, and he had highlights running through it. Bruises and scratches cover his arms, legs, and face. His frame is thin, and his bones are pronounced from malnourishment.

I felt a surge of protectiveness to my new cousin. What kind of human being would do this to a child? From the looks of the scars that laced his body, he had been abused for years. I embraced him in what I thought was a motherly hug. I could feel him tense up, but as I keep holding him, he started to relax, and he hugged me back. Deep sobs racked his body as he cried into my shoulder.

"Sh,sh,sh,sh. Its okay. Just let it all out." I said. I had done this to many half-bloods and hunters. I looked up at Percy with anger in my eyes, and found his expression mirroring my mood. His face was contorted into a mask of fury. Nico looked the same.

After many minutes, our mystery cousin stopped crying and, wiping the tears away from his eyes, he detangled himself from my arms. His eyes were puffy and red, and it made me want to kill this monster he must have had for a mother. "Thank you." he mumbled. Then his expression changed into one of confusion. "Who are you? And why did you come to my help? And why am I dry?" Questions shot from his mouth as fast as bullets. This time it was Percy who answered him.

"We are your family from you dad's side. We helped you because you were in trouble and needed help. Ill explain the dry thing later." Percy answered slowly in a comforting voice, getting down to eye level to do so. "Now can I ask you a question?"

The little boy nodded his head. "Can you tell us your name and who that was?" At once his face became troubled and he started to tear up again. Percy gave him a hug and told him he did not need to answer yet. After a few sniffles, the boy stepped back.

"My name is Max, Max Smith. And that was my mom."

Percy frowned. "Why was your mom doing that to you?" Max teared up once more, and Percy quickly backpedaled. "If you don't want to, you don't have to tell us now. My name is Percy, that is Thalia, and this is Nico. How about we go and get dinner, O.K.?"

Max nodded, then asked a very good question. "Why should I go with you?"

Percy just smiled and held out his hand. "Because we are your family now."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Nico P.O.V.

Max ravenously ate his burger and fries as we sat in a booth at a restaurant. It turns out my credit card does not have a limit, so we were able to eat as much as we wanted. Thalia, Percy and I had already finished our food, and were waiting for max to finish his. Finally, he settled back into his seat, his food all gone. He was already looking better than how we had found him, and I bought his a piece of apple pie.

As we waited for the pie, Max asked the big question, "So, who are you, who am I, and why did you help me?"

Percy looked around, and seeing no one, turned back to Max. "First, do you know about the Greek gods?" Max shook his head. "Well, you see, there was this group of people called the Greeks, and the believed in a group of gods called the Olympians. Got that?" Max nodded. "Now sometimes, the gods would come down to earth and have children with mortals. Now these children had special powers because they are half god. We" he motioned to us three, "are the children of the three elder brothers of the gods. You" he pointed to Max, "are my half brother. We are both the sons of the sea god Poseidon."

Max gasped at this. "You mean I'm the son of a god?" We all nodded as the waitress set down his slice of pie. He took a second before he started to thoughtfully eat his pie. "Then do I have some kind of special powers?"

I chuckled. "Yep. Each half-blood, what we call children of the gods, general have abilities and personality traits that corresponds with their godly parent."

Max looked confused as he ate another bite. Thalia let out a sigh and rolled her eyes. "Smaller words corpse-breath. What he _MEANS_is yes, you do have special powers, like not getting wet in water. You also probably take after your father, like Percy."

Max yawned as he finished his pie. I hadn't realized it, but the little guy must be exhausted from all this. I quickly got up and paid for our meal. Percy picked up Max and we found a close by motel. We crashed in a small room, me and Percy sharing the floor. We both took a watch, making sure that no monsters barged in and disturbed us. Sometimes during my watch, I would hear Max shuffle and moan in his sleep. Once, he woke up with wild eyes, yelling about something. He looked around confused, and then went back to bed.

Often I would look at the map that we were given. Now there were three blue dots in California. A little way further southwest, around Vegas, there was two more red dots. I found that if you willed it to, the map would zoom in. I knew just where to go to find our next cousin.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

We stopped at a convenience store in the morning. We bought camping supplies and food enough for a few days. Percy also got a wicked hunting knife for Max's personal protection. He was wary of it at first, but he looks like he is getting used to carrying it around.

They it was off to Vegas. None of us were happy to go, excluding Max who had never been and wanted to see the "pretty lights." The whole way there, he would not stop asking questions about who we are. Percy ended up telling him every story he knew, with me and Thalia stepping in to correct him. Then Percy told him all about camp Half-blood. He seemed to really like the idea of having a centaur as a teacher (once we explained what a centaur was). When we finally got to the city, it was about the twilight and we were all worn out from driving in the oppressive heat for a whole day.

The Cab that we had rented dropped us off on Las Vegas Boulevard, a spectacular sight to be sure. There were casinos, lights, and fountains shooting up into the sky in spectacular patterns. And looming in the distance, behind other casinos just as grand, was a casino with a bright gleaming lotus outlined in neon colors.

Quickly, I turned away and looked at the map. It zoomed in and showed just Vegas. There was us, three blue dots standing on a street corner, and there, in the Treasure Island casino, were two red dots. Smack dab in the middle. It was almost too easy.

"We will need to get in somehow. Preferably just one of us, seeing as Max is way to young to go into a casino." Mused Percy. Thalia and Percy looked straight at me. Max also, but more out of confusion. "Wait, why is someone going in there? Who is in there?" Percy turned to his brother and smiled kindly. I could have sworn that he had always been a big brother the way he acted around Max. "There are more half-bloods in that building, and we need to retrieve them to bring back to camp. And Nico is just the Person to go."

I grumbled as I got fitted into my brand spanking new suit. It was all black, just my color, with a blood red tie and pocket square. I had sleeked my long black hair, and Percy made a remark on how much I look like my father sometimes. I just shot him a dirty look as I admired myself in the mirror. I looked good, better than I ever had before. I liked this credit card.

As I walked into the lobby of the casino, I bought myself a sizable amount of money and started to wander through the crowd, looking at the map every once in a while to make sure that I was heading the right way. Finally I was right on top of the two red dots. but there was no one around that looked remotely like a demigod. then It dawned on me that they might be above me. I bought a room (the most expensive one) and took the elevator up, sopping at every room that occupied the same space as the red dots. finally, after many disgruntled guest and on very embarrassed man, I arrived on on the tenth floor. I knocked on the door, and met silence, followed by muffled screams. Quickly with a card I had stolen from the front desk, I swiped it through the electric lock and opened the door.

Within, bound and gagged, I found two children. One was a boy, about thirteen years old, the other was a girl, looking about a year younger. Both were naturally pale, the boy more so than the girl. The boy had platinum blond hair, and his eyes and skin were almost translucent. the girl had long pitch black hair and eyes that were silver and gold. And both were about to be killed.


	5. Water Fountains

**A/N: hope you enjoy! here is a bit on Max's past. Just so you know, I have been reading much epic poetry, so my writing style has started to reflect it. also, auto correct was not working, so for now there will be spelling mistakes. I will correct it as soon as possible.**

**I do not own Percy Jackson or any of its characters.**

We sat there, looking at the fountains shoot water into the air. Just for my new little brother, I would make the water form into different creatures from Mythology. Grypons, pegesi, Neamian lion. He would look at each with awe. It made my heart feel better knowing that he was happy. I had never had a human little brother before, and I think that I would enjoy it. I have so far. Every time I mention something new, his face lights up with wonder. Nothing like how we had found him, shivering and crying. I swear, I will kill whomever brought this kind of harm upon this boy.

The mist from the dolphin I had made reminded me of Iris messages. That would be something that I am sure that Max would find facinating. So I turned to him with a sly smile. "Hey Max, want to see something realy cool?" His eyes light up as he nodded enthusiasticly. "You remember the goddess Iris, right? Rainbows and stuff?" Once again he nodded, even more extaticly. Me and Thalia chuckled at the eager expresion on his face. "So, Iris will sometimes, if you are really nice, let you see another person in a rainbow." His eyes grew so big that I thought that they would fall out.

Thalia fished a Drachma out of her pocket and gave it to me. I made a rainbow appear in the mist of a fountain. We were at a more sheltered and quieter casino, so I was not worried about mortals seeing the IM. I showed him the coin then told him the incantation. When he had gotten the hang of it, I took the coin and threw it into the mist while saying the necessary words. "O goddess of the rainbow, show me Chiron at Half-boold." The mist cleared, showing Chiron playing cards with Mr.D on the porch of the big house.

He looked a bit surprised, what with all the noise around us and stuff. He was in his wheelchair and was wearing what I thought was hoofprint pajamas. Mr.D was wearing tiger print pajamas as well as a pair of deep purple pajama pants. Two pairs of cards hovered on either side of the table. In the distance I could hear the singing coming from the ampatheater.

Chiron got over his surprise quickly and looked at the three of us. One of his eyebrows arced when he saw Max, but if he was surprised by him he did not let on about it. He turned back to me and smiled. "Percy! What a plesent surprize! And Thalia to! But who is the young man with you? Have you already found a new half-blood?"

"Yep. This is my new little brother Max." Given this bit of news, both of Chiron's eyebrows arched up and Mr.D snorted. He laid down his cards and looked at us. "Oh great, another brat of old barnacle beard's. Now we will have TWO insufferable bigheaded children with 'great power'."

Max was looking at the mist with a look of pure glee and did not notice the last comment from our dear camp director. "Are you realy a centaur? And are you realy a god? Because you don't look like a god. Why are you in a wheelchair? Did your horse half get hurt? Because that would be very bad if you were hurt. Then you would have to wheel around everywhere. I was in a wheelchair once. It was hard. I was glad when I got better. When are you going to get better? I hope you get better soon. Is Mr.D helping you to heal? Cause Percy said he was a bitter old-" At this point I cut off his rambling to prevent further harm. Both Mr.D and Chiron were looking like they were still trying to proces the words that he was speaking.

Chiron cleared his throat, still looking quite confused and readressed us. "It looks like he has many questions. For now they will have to wait. What I am wondering is if you have been atracked by monsters yet. Max here apears to be quite hurt."

I look back at Max and saw that he was a frown. His eyebrows were scruched together and he looked like he was about to cry again. Hurridly Thalia put her arm around him to comfort him. I turned back to Chiron. "No. When we arrived in California, we found Max's mother trying to drown him. We think that the scars and wounds are from her."

My old teacher's expresion turned kind as he once more looked at Max. "Max, of you could, can you tell me who and why you received those wounds?"

Max sniffled a bit before he was able to compose himself to tell Chiron. Both me and Thalia leaned forward eagerly, finaly learning why he had had these wounds. He gave a shaky breath and began. "These are from my mommy. She would beat me because of voices." he shuddered at the end, and I felt a tingle go down my spine. "It came for the first time five years ago...

_Flashback_

Max and his mother were sitting at a small table in a just as small apartment. Max was eagerly digging into his food while his mom picked at hers. Then, the temperture droped in the room twenty degrees. Max looked around while his mom sat up strait. The a voice that seemed to come straight from the ground started to speak. It sounded like a knife on rocks, and at the sound Max cowered in his seat and tried vainly to cover his ears.

_What have we here?_ The voice inquired, _Another sea spawn of my worthless son? How interesting. I think you will make a fine tool._ And with the demonic lagughing resonating within his ears, Max blacked out.

_Many months later_.

Max walked about the apartment, trying to avoid his drunken mother. After the first voice, his mom had freaked out. She had moved them from sunny Florida to the cold, barren land of Minnisoda. And she had taken to drinking. Every night, the voice would come and taunt them, and every evening she would get drunk and beat him. Some times she was drunk enough that he could avoid her, but most of the times she found him.

Tonight was no different. She was sitting on the couch, drowning beer, no doubt working herself into a bad mood. Max shuffled into his room, waiting for the inevitable. But what he found there was a man. This man was tanned and had dark black hair. He looked like a beach comber from Florida, but instead of a metal detector he held a very large golden fork. He looked down at Max with a kind smile. Max cringed into the corner, wondering if this man was coming to take him away. The Man frowened and crouched down to meet him at eye level. "What are you afraid of child?"

Max cowered more, but worked up his courage. "You came to take me away, didn't you?"

The man's frown dissapeared into another kind smile. "Child, I would like to take you away. But not to a foster home or another place like it, but to a place where everyone will love you. That time will come, but you must wait. Be strong for me my son. And good things will come to you." And at this he disolved into a fine mist. Max closed his eyes and breathed in the sweet sent. Then he herd his mom pound down the door, and he struggled into his closet before she arrived.

_Many years later_

Max slogged hone from school. He hated it. All the other kids either made fun of him or they avoided him, treating him like a disease. The only teacher he liked was kind old Mrs.R. She was always kind and gentle to him, and she often took him in if his mother was to drunk. She said that she had six children, but only one stayed with her. Max often saw here sitting by the fire, and they would offten do homework together. Both of them made him feel warm inside, but Mrs.R would not let him live there, no matter how many times he pleaded with her. She would just say "Someday my child, someday."

When Max finaly got home, he saw multiple fresh beer bottles. His mom had been drinking hard already, and all he could do was wait for here to pass out. He gingerly set his backpack down and crept into the appartment. They had moved again, this time to California. It was nice and warm here, but Max could never go outside exept for school. He looked around the corner, making sure his mom was not there, then sprinted to his room. He closed the door and breathed a sigh of releif. Then he stifened at the sound that came behind him. "So, trying to sneak away from your mother, are you? Well I will teach you for doing that. Kronos was right, I should have gotten rid of you long ago. Well its now I plan to."

Max was knocked out cold. When he woke up again, he could feel that he was in a car, and it was moving. He tried to get up but his hands and feet were bound. Then the car stopped, and his mother opened tge door. She had a wild, crazy look in here eyes as she grabed him by the hands and roughly draged him out of the car. Max pleaded with his mom to stop, but she just kept pulling him down the pier. Finaly, she threw him over the side with one last curse, and he went under. He struggled to break free, but he was losing the battle with the ropes. Then, he felt the currents change, and strong arms griped him as he was propelled out of the water. He landed on the pier sputtering. Blinkng, he saw an older boy in all black, a girl also in all black but with electic blue eyes, and a realy old boy that had long black hair and tan skin.

_End flashback_

I was flabbergasted. For five whole years, my brother had been abused. Five years. He should be shattered, he should be broken, but here he was, strong as ever, if not mentaly tramatized. I realized that this was a very resiliant, recorcful boy. I bent down and hugged him feircly. "Max, I swear on the river Styx that as long as I am alive, I will be there for you, no matter what." I felt Thalia embrace embrace him also and murrmer words of comfort. After a few seconds we stopped, but as he faced the IM I stood protectivly behind him.

Chiron had a look of compassion as he looked at Max. "I think that you are in good hands my dear child. I-" His next comment was cut of from the puzzled look on his face as he looked over our heads at the hotel. I looked up and saw a briliant fading glow coming from one of the uper rooms in the hotel. I turned back to the IM and looked at our teacher. He just motioned for me to go by destroying the connection.

We ran to the front of the hotel. When we got to the front desk though, security stoped us. "You definetly do not belong here. Go back before you get hurt." I just snaped my fingers and felt the familiar gust come from them. "We are V.I.P guests. You need to let us go before we cause a comotion." They just nodded and repeated like the clones from starwars. We rushed up the stairs untill we got to the twelve floor. When we got there we saw a black haired girl running down the hall yelling for help.

**Happy Thanksgiving!**


	6. Dawn and Dusk

**Hey there. had much time to write, so here is my longest chapter yet! Huzzah! Anyways, enjoy.**

**I do not own Percy Jackson or any of its characters.**

Light and dark

What a day. It had started just like any other day, me arriving at the house of my best friend Marigold. Mari and me are an odd pair of friends. We are both thirteen, but we are almost opposites. I love to read and am interested in astronomy. She loves to be active and is interested in geology. I am quieter and prefer to be ignored. She is always in the middle of everything. Even our looks are different. We both have pale skin, but I have platinum blond short hair and almost translucent eyes. I am also leaner than her and not as physically fit. She has long pitch-black hair and eyes that look like diamonds. She is very fit and always active.

After I met her at her house we started to walk to our school here in Vegas. We talked about the homework that we had and our classes. Finally we got to school and tired to get to our homeroom without being seen by the class bullies. Of course they still found us. "Hey Lucy! Do you need some sunscreen? I think that I have some SPF 100 here for you." I gritted my teeth and tried to pull Mari away, but she just had to stand up for me.

She whipped around and glared at the boy who had spoken out. Once again I tried to pull her away, but she just stubbornly stood there. "Hey Jack. You know his name is Lucas, so start calling him his proper name before I come over there and make you broken jaw say it."

Jack just laughed and got here more fired up. "Oh, so now little Lucy needs a girl to stand up for him? What is she, your girlfriend? Oh wait, you're too ugly to have a girlfriend."

I had to practically drag Mari away from the hallway as she started to run for him with a deadly light in her eyes. When we finally got to our class, she was huffing and puffing just like the big bad wolf. "Mari, what have I said? You don't need to stand up for me, it just causes more trouble." She just sighed and finally settled herself down. We waited for a few minutes and noticed a couple of cheerleaders sitting in the corner. They were seriously hot, but they looked like they were in high school, so I put that thought out of my mind quickly. One of them looked directly at Mari and me and smiled. I could feel my heart almost melt she was so good looking, but the smile was less, _Oh hi there!_ And more _I will eat your guts for breakfast turd_.

When class started, the teacher introduced the two cheerleaders as people from the local high schools that were here to talk to us about high school. They kept on looking at Mari and me with that same cold and calculating look. The rest of the day went by just like every day, and at the end Mari and me walked to the Treasure Island casino where our mothers worked. As we walked I talked with her once more about this morning.

"Mari, how many times do I have to tell you, You don't have to stand up for me, in fact I don't want you to stand up for me. I can handle it myself."

She just snorted. "Lucas, your version of 'handling it' is to just let them keep calling you names. You wont be able to get them off your back if you just let it go."

"They just want us, particularly you to react to them. If you just ignore them I am sure they will go away."

"Suuuurrrrreeeee. If you just ignore them they will just disappear like little fairies. Poof!"

"Just because your solution for everything is to destroy it does not mean that it is the right way."

"Hey! My solution is not to destroy the problem!"

"Oh please, I have known you for eleven years. If I am right about anything, it is that you will always confront the problem head on. Just bash and smash."

"If we keep talking about this, I think I will have to bash and smash you sparkles."

"Ok fairy princess."

We walked up to the front desk of the casino and said hi to Larry the head of security. He smiled back and waved us through. We wandered through the countless bachelor parties and gambling addicts to the main stage of the casino. We took a seat in the very back and started to do our homework as the show started. After an hour, we walked to the back of the stage to find our moms.

My mom is a really nice lady. She is the head lighting director at this casino. She has caramel hair and kind eyes. She has raised me from birth by herself. She said my father was an astronaut who died in a training accident. Whenever I ask about him, she gets a far off look in her eyes and says that he was a kind handsome man who would be proud of me.

Mari's mom is a set designer here. She met my mom when they started to do shows together eleven years ago. Just like Mari and me my mom and Mari's are best of friends. The four of us do everything together. Mari's mom also raised Mari by herself. Mari's dad was an ambassador who saw her mom and fell in love with her. but soon after, he moved on and she has never heard of him since.

When we both got backstage, we embraced our mothers in tight hugs. "You did really great mom," we both said in unison. They just laughed and asked us how our days went. We continued to talk about our days until our moms had to go back to work.

We stood outside of the stage thinking of what we should do. I looked over at Mari and we both started to grin. We knew exactly what we should do. We ran off and started to steal the quarters from unwary tourists. Mari had an unnatural gift for it. Quarters would just seem to fly into her hand. When we were done we had collected enough to play our favorite game.

The game in question was a virtual horse racing game. You could raise your own horse, train it, and then race it for money. We had four horses that we had been training for years. We almost always won and took even more money from unsuspecting gamblers.

Once everyone was fed up with trying to race us, we took our winnings and went to the most expensive restaurant and ordered high priced meals. We received a discount because both of our moms worked here, and we always had enough money to afford it.

What was left we would spend on trinkets in the gift shop. as we both looked for stuff to buy, I saw the gorgeous cheerleaders walk into the store. they looked around until they spotted us and grinned that terrifying smile. I tugged on Mari's arm and she turned towards them. She frowned and led me back onto the floor of the casino. we wandered around, but the cheerleaders kept on following us. When we had thought that we had finally gotten away from them, I felt ropes drop over my head and secure my arms and legs. I struggled vainly to escape and shout, but they had secured us tightly and gagged us.

They dragged us up to a room on one of the higher floors. When I saw them, they were definitely not cheerleaders anymore. Sure they still wore their outfits, but their skin was ghostly white and their hair was on fire. Their legs were different also. One looked like the leg of a farm animal and the other was made of metal.

They propped us up against the bed. "You both will make fine meals." I waited for the inevitable when I heard a nock on the door. After a second both me and Mari started to yell through our bonds, but one of the creatures just laughed as the other leaned closer to Mari. "Who could hope to save you now huh? NO ONE!"

But as she said it the door opened and a boy in a tux came in. His eyes widened, but he quickly got over it and advanced through the doorway. "Hey!" he shouted. Good news: the cheer-hags were now not eating us. Bad news: they attacked this defenseless boy. I had to help. I closed my eyes and tried once again to escape from the bonds. I felt a warm tingle spread through my body and through my eyelids I saw a blinding flash of light before I blacked out.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

When I woke up, I was in one of the premium suites at the hotel. Crowded around me was Mari and four people I did not know. Mari surprised me by hugging me fiercely, but she let go quickly because of the people around. Now that I was able to look at them clearly, I saw what an odd assortment of people there was there. There was the boy in the tux, a girl who wore all black and had startling electric blue eyes, another boy who was eagerly looking over the others shoulders who looked like he was really young, and an older boy with sea green eyes and black hair looking at me worried.

I groaned as I tried to get up. Mari just pushed me back down. "Settle down Lucas. You need to rest. These people are here to help us. They found us as those...things attacked us." She looked a bit nervous, which made me in turn nervous. Mari was never nervous. I just nodded and lay back down. I was propped up on a couch that overlooked the city.

"What happened just now?" I inquired. The boy in the tux was the first to answer. "You were attacked by empousai, or as we like to call them vampire cheerleaders." Now that I look at him more closely, I can see that he has pale skin and long black hair. He looks kinda like Mari in a way, but that must be by chance. In his hand he is holding a jagged piece of dark rock. Now why would a boy have a rock that looks like a knife? I turned my attention once more to the others.

The girl looked to be about sixteen. Her black hair was spiked, and she wore a shirt that had death to Barbie on it. A silver aura surrounded her. The older boy was about a year older. By the way he looked he was analyzing me. I decided that he was the leader. The last of the group does not look like he belongs with them. He also has green eyes like the oldest boy, but he has short coppery hair, not long black hair. From what I can tell, he is only eight years old, and scars cover his face and arms.

The eldest boy started to talk to us. "Are your parents around here?"

"Yes, Mari knows where they are." The two oldest looked at each other and came to a silent conclusion. The girl got up and started to walk away with Mari before I blurted out, "Wait! What are your names? And why did you save us?" The girl turned around and said, "My name is Thalia, daughter of Zeus." 'Like, Zeus the god?' I wondered. "The idiot in the tux is Nico, son of Hades," 'O.K, another weird father to have. "That one," she said as she pointed at the oldest, "is Percy, and the littlest one is Max, and both of them are the children of Poseidon." And with that she walked off with Mari in tow, leaving me to wonder the sanity of these people.

The one called Percy looked a bit sheepishly back at me and gave me a sympathetic look. "Sorry about Thalia," he said, "She can be a bit blunt sometimes." Then his expression turned serious. "Now in order to answer you second question, I need to ask you a few questions. First, Do you know about the Greek Gods?"

I nodded. "I remember talking about them in English class."

Percy nodded and continued. "Well these gods are real. Now sometimes, these gods have children called demigods. All of us, including you are demigods."

My mind was reeling from the news he had just given me. I was the son of a god? How is that possible? "My dad was an astronaut, not a god." I said.

"Let me guess," Percy said, "He was lost forever after or before you were born?" I nodded slowly. "That's not true. It was just a front that your mom told you to keep you safe from the monsters."

"Then who is he really?" I asked.

Nico answered this time. "When I rescued you, you let off a bright flash of light before you blacked out. My guess would be Apollo."

I frowned. Wasn't Apollo the god of music though? And I was NOT good at music. I strummed a guitar once and the neck snapped off. "No, it can't be Apollo."

Both the older boys just looked thoughtful as Max continued to bounce around. I heard the door burst open and my mom ran into the room wild eyed. She saw me and ran over, enveloping me in a monster hug. I felt my breath being squeezed out of me as I patted her on the back and tried to sooth her. Percy and Nico got up to give us space and Percy took Max's hand and led him away.

My mom finally let go and looked me in the face. She had a worried expression on her face, but there was relief mixed in. "Oh Lucifer, when I heard what had happened, I was so worried." The use of my full name showed just how worried she was. Mom said that Lucifer was my father's name and that she had named me after him. "You must tell me everything."

I told her what had happened. When I told her about the demigods rescuing us, she pursed her lips in disapproval. Then she sighed a deep sigh and looked at me with sadness in her eyes. "I tried to avoid this for years, but I knew they would come for you eventually."

I could feel my blood boil. "You knew this whole time and you never told me? Why?" My mom sighed again and ran her fingers through her hair. "I wanted you to be free of the tragic life of a hero. I wanted you to be safe."

I asked the big question on my mind. "Who is my father?"

"When the time is right, you will know. Remember your name, and you will be able to figure it out." She said cryptically. "For now, you need to find your own way without that knowledge."

We chatted for a while. My mom gave me a large wad of cash (she had been preparing for this for years) and also gave me a pitch-black mag light. "If you turn the head, it will turn into a bow. The quiver will magically appear. Mortals will take no notice to it, so don't worry about anyone stopping you about it. You father wanted you to have it." I turned the cap of the light and it morphed into a large silver compound bow. I admired the workmanship of the weapon.

Just like she said, a quiver of silver arrows hung across my waist. Somehow I know that if I wanted it on my back, it would appear there. The bow itself was made of stag horn that curved into multiple tines. Polished pewter curved around the bow in intricate flowing patterns. I pulled the string back and felt the tension building in the string. It took all of my strength just to pull it back. It would take a lot of practice to get used to it.

I twisted the leather grip and it returned to its flashlight form. "Does it have a name?" I asked. My mom shook her head. Thinking, I settled on a name. "Moon rise." For some reason, the bow had reminded me of a picture of the moon rising behind a stag. "That seems like the perfect name." Mom nodded, silently agreeing with me. She pulled me into another hug before standing back to look at me with her eyes full of pride. "Looks like your baby boy is growing up." I said joking to her. She rolled her eyes in response. We gave had a long running joke that I was her "baby boy". Neither of us said it with any sincerity, but it was partially true. I was growing up. I was leaving the nest. Mom gave me one last hug before she went back downstairs with Mari's mom.

I walked over to Mari, wondering who her parent was. Strangely, she was talking to the tux dude. He looked like he was explaining something to her, and he kept on motioning with his hands. From what I could tell though, Mari was taking the news of her parent worse than me. Her face was ashen, and her eyes were wide as she slowly shook her head. Tux boy just kept on nodding and tried to comfort her, but she stood up and seeing me ran over and buried her face in my shoulder and she hugged me for comfort. I was surprised at first, but returned the hug and held her as she sobbed a bit into my shoulder. After an awkward few minutes, she took a deep breath and stepped away, still looking at the ground. "Thank you." She muttered. "Hey, that's what best friends are for, right? A shoulder to cry on and not judge you. Now will you tell me WHY you were crying?"

She took another deep breath and spoke in a raspy voice, "Its my father. He is Hades, the god of the dead."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Me and Mari sat on one of the large couches. The three oldest demigods stood in front of us. Max had gone to bed not long ago. He was still young and tired earlier than the rest of us. Now there were just three ultra powerful demigods in the room. Mari sniffled a bit as she leaned against me. Percy cleared his throat. "As we have told you, both of you are children of Olympian gods. We were sent here because we need you to come to camp and train with us. Now, you aren't the last demigods we are going to pick up, so we will be traveling across the country to gather up some more demigods."

I nodded and Percy took that as the signal to continue. "We will rest here for tonight, but in the morning we will leave early and immediately. Have a good nights rest and we will see you in the morning." With that we all went to our respective rooms. Mari and me were sharing a room, but we slept in separate beds. Before I went to sleep, I tested out my flashlight. It turned on with a click of a button, but instead of a steady white light it gave off a soft shifting glow, like the aurora borealis. When my head hit my pillow, I fell asleep instantly.

About halfway through the night I woke up to some one shaking me awake. I grumbled and opened my eyes to see Mari standing there, eyes puffy and bloodshot from crying. I sat up quickly; sleep having been driven from my mind. "What's wrong?" In a horse voice she said, "Can I sleep with you tonight? I can't sleep by myself." My only response was scooting over and holding out my arms. She crawled in next to me and I wrapped my arms around her. She snuggled up next to me and started to breath smoother. In a moment she was completely asleep and I was left to wonder, what had happened to make Mari act like this.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

When I woke up, I felt a body pressed against against me. Groggily, I squinted and saw Mari still sleeping. This was nothing new. We have grown up together for eleven years, and that meant that we have shared a bed many times before. Still we hadn't done this for years, so it was a bit awkward. I noticed that her hair smelled like mint, and that I was a bit taller than her now. I tried to move without waking her, but when I tried to move she woke up, mumbling something. Blinking, she sat up and seeing me blushed. I could feel myself blush to as I sat up and got out of bed quickly.

I could smell bacon wafting from the kitchen as we walked into the main room. Percy was standing at the stove, flipping bacon and pancakes while Nico and Thalia sat at the counter. Max sat in front of the TV watching some kids show. As Mari and I slid in next to Thalia, I saw that they were hunched over looking at a map of the United States. On it numerous red dots were spread out, while a clump of blue dots were positioned in Vegas. "Looks like the nest one is in Colorado." muttered Thalia. "Next what?" inquired Mari. Nico looked up and seeing us broke out into a smile. "Looks like the lovebirds are awake." Thalia punched him as we both blushed and Percy just chuckled. Thalia turned back to us and said, "Don't mind my idiot cousin. He's just jealous because he can't get the courage to talk to a girl."

"Hey! I can talk to girls, I just choose not to."

Thalia just rolled her eyes and continued, "The next demigods. They are whom we need to pick up before we go to camp. According to the map, the next one is in Colorado, Rocky Mountain National Park to be exact."

As Percy passed me a plate laden with pancakes and bacon, I thought about how neither Mari nor me had been out of Vegas. This was the first time I would be leaving home. I could feel a tingle go up my spine. Correction, I am leaving home on an adventure. "Soooooo, how are we getting there?" Percy answered this time. "By bus."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

When Percy said by bus, I had assumed we would be travling on a bus with other people. Wrong. Nico had a credit card from his dad that had no limit, so he had bought a small coach bus.

It had TVs, a bathroom and a specialized small kitchen in the back. It was like a an RV and a bus had a child. Percy and Thalia had an argument on who should drive, but Percy won on the fact that Thalia would never be sixteen and he was invincible, so all the threats she made were hollow.

Soon we were rolling down the road to the national park. Percy put the peddle to the medal. Thalia showed me some tips for the bow. Nico talked more with Mari about their parentage and Percy was talking to Max about mythology. After about an hour of this, I managed to talk to Mari. She was looking outside the window as I sat down next to her. "Hey" I said. She looked over at me and I saw that her eyes were a bit red. "What's wrong?" I asked. "Oh, you know, just coping with the fact that my long lost dad is the lord of the dead." was her reply.

"Well, at least you know for sure who your dad is. I have no idea who my dad is other than his name is Lucifer, and I am sure that he is not the devil." Mari laughed at that. "Well, my dad is."

I smiled weakly at her. Her mouth flickered into a small smile, but it turned back into a frown. "Hey, don't act that way." I said to her. "You are not your father. You are the farthest thing from your father. You are smart and sweet and beautiful-" I stopped and I could feel a blush creep up my neck. I looked over at her and a blush was also present on her face, but her eyes shined a bit more. "You think so?" I just nodded. She leaned against me and I stroked her hair. We sat like that for hours before the bus slowed to a stop.

"Rest stop!" yelled Percy from the front of the bus. I looked outside and saw that we were in a city. "Welcome to Grand Junction Utah."

We clambered off of the bus. "First things first, we need to get camping supplies. Then, extra clothes for you two." Percy barked out. Even though Thalia was the daughter of Zeus, Percy seemed to be the leader. I wonder why.

We hit the camping store quick. We got two lightweight tents, one for the boys and one for the girls. Percy also got a tackle box, why I don't know. Then we went to clothing store. I got a bunch of pastel colored shirts and some faded jeans, along with some flannel shirts. Mari got some darker shaded clothing. Then we were back on the road.

While we were at the stores, Nico and Percy had bought a gaming system, so we taught Max how to play. He was really exited, and in no time he was playing like a pro. Thalia had convinced Percy that he should bond with his little brother and that she should drive. And she could drive. The speedometer never dropped below eighty the rest of the way, even when we were in the mountains. Finally, we reached the park. Thalia had apparently been here before to 'hunt', whatever that means. We set up camp in the last fading light. I said goodnight to Mari before heading into my own tent with Percy, Max and Nico. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out cold.

I was on the launch pad in the middle of the night, a rocket loomed behind me illuminated by spotlights. I heard a voice behind me say, "Wonderful, isn't it? What mankind can achieve in this day and age." I whipped around and there stood an astronaut with his helmet off, looking at the rocket. He had Platinum blond hair and pale eyes, just like me. His skin was radiating light, and it was a bit hard to look at him. Then he looked at me.

"Dad?" I said tentatively. His smile widened in response and he nodded. I had no idea of what I should do. Should I hug him? Shake his hand? "There is no need to do anything right now, I know how you feel." His word flowed over me and I just nodded and looked at my feet. He cleared his throat and I looked back up at him. He started to speak again

"It has been a number of years since I have had a child. And now that I see you, I am glad that I had you. You have grown up to be a handsome young man."

Did I just hear him correctly? Was he proud of me? "Uh, thanks?" He threw his head back and laughed. His laugh sound like deep drum, resonating through the air. I laughed a bit, wondering what was so funny. My dad settled down and looked back at me. A million questions swarmed in my head, but I spoke the first one that came to mind. "Who are you?" He waged a finger at me, and the air shimmered around it, distorting it like he was in a fishbowl. "Did your mom not tell you that she named you after me?"

"So then you are Lucifer, like the devil?" He frowned. "Certainly not! Lucifer is one of my names, as well as the most well known. I must admit, the Greeks did not pay much attention to me. No, that is my Roman name, and it has nothing to do with the devil. The Greeks called me Phosphorus, like the element named after me."

I asked the next question on my mind. "What were you in charge of then? Light up fish?"

"Where are you getting these questions?" He mused. "No, I am the morning star. In modern times I represent space exploration and lights. That is how I fell in love with your mother. I saw one of her light shows in Vegas once and fell in love with her instanly."

"If you loved mom so much, why did you not help raise me, or help when we needed it?" Lucifer, which was easer to say than Phosphorus, winced at my out lash. His eyes were sad as he looked at me. "My son, the gods are bound by ancient rules that forbid us to directly interfere in the affairs of our children."

I was still angry, but not as much as before. At least there was a legitimate reason that I had never seen him before. "If you can't interfere directly, then why are you here?" His eyes gleamed brightly in the spotlights as he answered. "I came to warn you. There is a terrible beast in these forests, one that belongs to my rival Sirius. Be wary of it, for it is fatal to my children. That is all I can tell you, for you are about to wake up. Remember to avoid it, and you will have a chance to survive." His words started to dissolve as I awoke.

I woke up and felt Max pressed up against me in his sleep. The spot opposate him where Percy slept was vacant. I got up as gingerly as I could so that I didn't wake up Max and exited the tent. We had set up camp next to a smallish lake, and the morning mist off of it was quite nice. As I looked across the surface of the lake, I saw Percy standing waist deep in the water whipping a fishing pole over his head.

I walked over to where he was standing and watched for almost ten minutes before he noticed me. "Hey, what are you doing out of bed so early? Apollo hasn't even risen over the mountain tops yet."

I responded with, "Dream." He nodded knowingly. "Most demigods have weird dreams. So, what was it about? See a catastrophe that is imminent? Titans whispering in your ear?" I looked at the earnest expression on his face that was the opposite of mine. Catastrophe? Titans? How messed up was this guy? "Uh, no." I told him everything about it, and when I finished he now sported a thoughtful look.

"Most demigods don't meet their parents ever. I must say, I feel lucky having seen my father on numerous occasions. But to come and warn you about something, however indirectly he did it, is really special. Whatever it is, at least we know there is a danger out there." At the end of his little speech, a large pole-like thing came whizzing out of the woods, hitting Percy Square in the shoulder. He stumbled and fell into the water as a feminine voice yelled out, "What are you doing here?"


	7. Mile High

**here we go, another chapter. on a side note, does anyone know how to see how many story follows they have on a story? just wondering. enjoy!**

**I do not own Percy Jackson**

Mile high

"What are you doing?" These four words ripped through my sleep, and I shot bolt upright as sleep fled my body. I ripped open the door of the tent and rushed out to the lake. Lucas was rushing over to a sputtering Percy. My bow was already in my hand and aimed at the girl who was holding a javelin over her shoulder, aimed at Percy. I yelled out to her, "What are YOU doing? Attacking people like that with no pretense."

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "He's a demigod, so I knew that that would probably just get his attention. And he was fishing in a lake that has a no fishing sign up."

I lowered my bow a bit. "You know he is a demigod? How? Does that mean that you are also a demigod?" I asked a bit nervously. How did she know Percy was a demigod?

She glowered at me, finally taking her attention from Percy to me. Her electric blue eyes surveyed me from my feet to my head, finally settling on the silver ringlet on my head, her eyes widening when she saw it. "Are-are you the lieutenant of Artemis?" she stuttered out. I nodded, and liked this girl more as her look changed from contempt to pure adoration.

"Wo-wow! A real hunter here in the park! And the lieutenant no less!" She jumped down from the rock she was on and ran over to me, Percy and his intrusion completely forgotten. The mystery girl stood in front of me and bounced up and down like a teen girl at a Justin Beiber concert. "Oh my gods! I like, the biggest fan of the hunters. My mom won't let me join because she says she still 'needs me', whatever that means. Oh, I almost forgot, my name is Wendy. What is yours? Oh gods, I should have asked earlier and not rambled so much. It's just, I'm in the presence of a hunter! I can't believe it!"

And on that note, she promptly fainted.

I looked over at the bewildered Percy, who had watched the whole thing. He raised an eyebrow and I just shrugged. Nico blearily stuck his head out of his tent and yelled at me, "Hey! Keep it down out there. I'm trying to sleep!" and ducked back in grumbling.

I crouched down and shook the girl's shoulder. She blinked a bit before realizing what had happened, and quickly stood up embarrassed. "Sorry bout that" she mumbled, "guess I just got to exited."

"S'ok." I said. I asked her again, "Who are you?"

"My name is Rosemary, daughter of Zeus, and you are?"

I took a step back in surprise. "Your a child of Zeus? Are you sure?" She looked at me suspiciously. "What, doubt that Zeus is my dad? You want proof? Here is proof." She spread her fingers apart and electricity arched up and down them. "Well I don't doubt you now. Now its my turn." I held my hand out and willed the electricity into my own hand. It arced out of her hand and formed a crackling ball in my own. Her eyes widened and she gasped. "I'm Thalia, lieutenant of Artemis and also a daughter of Zeus."

"Oh, my, gods. Your my sister?" she whispered. I nodded and a scream of delight escaped her lips at a decibel that left me deaf in my left ear. She tackled me in a hug that added nicely to the confusion that was settling on me. "I've always wanted a sister! And now I have one, and you're the lieutenant of Artemis no less! I'm sooooooo exited!" I could feel the air being driven out of me as she slowly crushed me out of excitement. "Uh, dying here." I managed, and she quickly let me go, blushing.

Nico poked his head out again. "Hey! What did I say about waking me up?" I yelled back at him "Just go back to sleep before I come over there and knock you out." He paled a bit more before ducking his head back into the tent.

Once I had regained my breath I looked at my new sister more seriously. She had electric blue eyes and black hair in a ponytail. She wore a silver parka (suspiciously like our parkas) and a pair of jeans. Her face had windburn, but outlined where a pair of ski goggles probably sat over her eyes. I estimate that she is about thirteen, just like Luke and Mari.

"So why are you here?" I asked her. She sighed and rolled her eyes again. 'Man, she does that a lot, huh.' "I help out my mother here in the park. See, she is a park ranger, and she says that I can sharpen my demigod skills by hunting the monsters in the park."

"So your like an unofficial hunter?" This was Percy's question as he walked out of the lake dry, Lucas following warily while looking at the completely dry Percy in amazement. "Explains why you attack the boy first and ask questions second." He handed her the javelin that she had thrown at him back. She snatched it away and looked at Percy with suspicion. She looked at me and asked "If you are the lieutenant of Artemis, why are you traveling with boys?" she said the last part with venom in her voice, and I knew she would be an awesome sister.

"The one you shot at is my cousin, and we are looking for demigods across the country, like Lucifer here."

"Oh" she said simply. "Would you like to come back to camp half-blood, the place we train, with us? I would like to have a sister at camp." She perked up at the sister part. "Well, I would like to join you, but there is a monster that I am currently hunting, and a very dangerous one at that. I can't leave until I have slain it."

Well, I was happy to help with that. "Do you mind if we help you? Get the job done quicker." she brightened visibly. Then she frowned. "But what about the boys? Are they coming with us, because I don't want them to mess this up."

"How about I take the boys and Thalia can take the girls, and we can split up." Percy said. "I agree." I said. "If you get in trouble, fire a flaming arrow into the sky. We meet back here by dusk."

"So, how long have you known that you were a demigod?" I asked Rosemary. We were walking along one of the many walking paths looking for our mystery monster. After breakfast we had split up. Nico, Mari and Max all took it in stride and quickly accepted Rose. All through the meal I keep on seeing Nico glance over at her, but I wrote it off.

Rose responded. "Since I was seven. I was attacked by a hellhound and managed to kill it with my powers. My mom saw that it was fruitless for me to not know, so she told me."

"How have you managed to stay alive this long? I've only met one monster, and it nearly killed me in seconds." said Mari. I felt sorry for her. She was still struggling to cope with the fact that she was Hades daughter, and although she was fit for an average thirteen year old, she was struggling to keep up with us. Her question came out in semi-labored gasps, and sweat was running down her face.

Rose stopped to answer, much to Mari's relief. "Constant training. Like I said, I want to be part of the hunters, so I keep myself in shape to kill monsters. Running, climbing, agility, I do all of these things. I often go camp in the wilderness with nothing but my javelins. My mom was also a hunter before she Met dad, so she taught me a lot of things."

I must say, I was surprised. This was one dedicated girl. I liked her more and more as we spoke. Definitely going to get her into the hunters.

After a few minutes we continued. Whatever this creature was, it was sneaky. Only as we were staring to come back did we see anything unusual.

The sun was dipping below the horizon when we ran into the boys on a trail back to camp. As we started walking back, Percy told me of how Max had killed a rabid fox and how Lucas had also killed a rabid raccoon, all without any injury to themselves. Nico said that they had also seen many dead animals, all from rabies. It was a bit odd that there were so many animals with rabies, but Rose told me that this was normal for this time of year.

Up ahead of me, Nico suddenly stopped and the rest of us ran into him. "Hey! What was th-" He cut off my words with a quick look. We crouched down and he pointed down to a field in front of us. In the middle if the field was a myriad of swirling red colors. They disappeared but a yellow patch of grass remained.

"What was that? And where did it go?" I asked.

"Its a dog by the looks of it, and it is heading for the forest." Lucas answered. I still saw nothing, so I looked over at him and gasped at what I saw. His normally pale eyes were pitch black. I gazed into them, and all I saw was an all-consuming darkness, going on forever, full of nothingness. I could hear Mari gasp, and shuffling from the rest of the group as they look at him. He looked at the rest of us with his eyebrows raised. Mari was the first to speak. "Wha-what happened to your eyes? Their pitch black."

"What do you mean? My eyes are just fine." Percy shook his head and waved his hand. A polished slab of ice appeared in front of Lucas. Off handedly, I was amazed that Percy was this powerful. Lucas looked at the ice, but his expression was the same. "I don't see anything wrong with them. They look just like they always have. I do see that dog thing escaping. Lets stop gawking at me and go after that thing."

I led the group, as apparently I was the only person who could see the bright dog as it moved through the woods, leaving a trail that was as clear as day.

I had lied when I had told them I had not seen a change in my eyes. I had seen a myriad of colors emanating from them. I had seen those colors before. At night, I often saw colors beyond the typical red-orange-yellow-green-blue-purple color spectrum. I had never questioned these colors, they were just part of my life. I guess that they were a gift from my dad, the ability to see every color in the universe.

It never occurred to me that others could never see these wonderful colors, I had thought that everyone could see them because I could. It disappointed me that they could not, but it made me unique. I was proud that my dad has given this gift to me.

I snapped back to reality to see that the dog was nowhere to be seen. I looked around franticly, searching for it, and saw it perched on a rock not farther than thirty feet away. Now that I was close enough to see it properly, I was able to see it clearly and was horrified by what I saw.

The beast was at least twelve feet long and seven feet high. It was a mutt, with matted fur that was missing patches of it. Its long snout was pocket marked with mange, and its teeth were crooked and in a permanent snarl, foam dripping from its fangs. Its eyes rolled in its head as it looked straight at me with hatred in them.

"What was that sound?" Max asked uneasily as the dog growled. In response I slowly twisted the cap of Twilight until it became a bow. "Where." uttered Percy. I motioned to the rock and felt a wave of sickness roll through my body. My knees felt weak and I fell to the ground. I felt the temperature drop and my rising fever was quelled. A yelp came from the dog. I got the strength to look up and saw that it was slowly being encased in ice, fear in it eyes.

Whish!

One, two, five, ten arrows shot from Thalia's bow and hit the dog in the chest. Its eyes rolled back into its head as it shuddered and fell limp.

"Electricity in the arrows. Good use of your father's powers."

"Good use of your own powers Percy. Didn't know you could make Ice."

He shrugged. "One of many thing I have worked on this summer."

Nico huffed. "How come you get cool powers?" Then he got a wicked, mad gleam in his eye. He raised his hand and a black, jagged piece of rock spired out of the ground and impaled the dog. Without a word, the dog melted into a pool of colors. He turned triumphantly to his cousins, a grin plastered to his face. "Obsidian. Learned how to this winter."

"Looks like we all learned something this winter." said Percy. "Hey, hey, big brother! Can you teach me to control water?" Max bounced up and down, a ball of energy eager to learn from his new sibling.

"Well, now that that is over, if I am to come with you we will have to go to my mom and probably pick up my brother." said Rose


	8. The Glade

**Greetings** **once again! I come bearing gifts of another chapter. Thanks to those who have posted so far, especial Lexia Daughter of Athena for posting almost every chapter. Constructive criticism is welcomed as it helps to make a better story possible.** **Thank you and enjoy!**

**I do not own Percy Jackson or any of the characters.**

**Mari P.O.V**

"What!" Thalia yelled. "Wait, you, I, we have a brother? And why did you not mention this before?"

Rose rolled her eyes again for the umpteenth time. Man, she is such a drama queen. "I told you this before, I have a twin brother who is also a child of Zeus."

I remember her saying that, but it was in the middle of one of her rants about how much she hated boys. I don't know what she has against them. My best friend is a boy and he is not as bad as she makes them out to be. Sure he was a slob sometimes, but he was kinder than the boys she talked about. I guess her brother must be a jerk or something.

I hope that not all of the hunters think of boys this way. Thalia doesn't, and she is the lieutenant or cornel or something.

Thalia was an odd girl. She only looks like she is sixteen, but being immortal she must be much older, like a hundred or something. Her tough outer shell only came off when she was talking to a girl she trusted or to her cousins, Percy and my 'brother' Nico. That makes her...my cousin to! It's cool to have an immortal cousin. To me, she was like the big sister I never had.

Percy must also be my cousin then. He is handsome, with that hair and those eyes and that grin. I sure I could go on and on, but then I remembered that he is my cousin, and that just seems gross to me. Does that mean that Lucas is also my cousin? Or is he like my second nephew? This is all to confusing, ill just ask Thalia latter.

Nico was the odd one. He was sullen, and rarely smiled, even with his cousins. He was a moody teenager, just like me. He seems excited that he has a new sister, even if his eyes are full of sadness whenever he looks at me. It will be hard to get used to him, but I bet that he is not so bad once you get to know him.

"Oh, yeah, right." I was jolted back to the topic on hand and out of my ADHD thoughts. Thalia rubbed the back of her neck while everyone cracked a smile. "Is he anything like you?" she said, hopeful. She frowned when Rose shook her head.

"If anything, he is the exact opposite of me. He chases girls like there is no tomorrow. Really inherited dad's love for women." Rose said, her voice full of venom. I could understand where she was coming from now. I hated boys like that, a girlfriend for every day of the week. I myself avoided relationships because they are too crazy for me. I tried to date a boy once, but it ended with me crying in Lucas's shoulder and telling him all about it. That is why Lucas is my best friend, because he is there for me always, no matter what, even during all of this demigod crap. That night I had been devastated to know that my mystery dad was Hades, of all people. Was I disappointed? You could say that. I preferred emotionally crushed knowing that I was the love child of the god of the dead.

"So, where is he?" Inquired Nico. "Somewhere in the park chasing girls?"

Rose shook her head. "No, he goes to public school is Estes Park. It's a smallish town near here. Mom put him there so she could continue to work here and also keep an eye on him. Oh, I should probably tell my mom that I am leaving."

"Can we stop somewhere first?" asked Percy. "There is a friend in the park that I would like to talk to.

Percy led us through the park to an unknown location. He wouldn't tell us where it was or who we were meeting, but when he whispered it to Thalia and Nico they grinned.

"Where are we?" Asked Rose for the twentieth time. I wish she would just shut up for once. "This is not a part of the forest I have been in before."

Percy just grinned and kept on walking. We seemed to wander aimlessly, back tracking and what not. My mind wandered until it was almost morning. Percy had carried Max while he had slept. Those two were so cute.

We wandered into a glade ringed with thousand-year-old trees. It was spectacular. Animals wandered through it, grazing on the luscious grass. It was like nothing I had ever seen. A soft breeze rolled through the glade and ruffled my hair, bringing with it the smell of leaves.

"Peeeeeeerrrrrcccccyyyy!"

A man came rocketing out of a nearby patch of trees and tackled Percy, knocking him on to his back. "Hey buddy." Percy said through his laughter. When they got up I realized that the man was more of a...it. Curly horns sprouted from the top of his equally curly hair, and his legs were bent and covered in hair. And not just leg hair, which would be disgusting, but animal hair. "Thalia! Nico! I haven't seen you since the war? How are thing with you guys? And who are the people you are traveling with?" He embraced both of the people mentioned before turning back to us. Max stared wide eyed at it, while both Rose an Lucas were wearing an expression close to mine, a mix between bewilderment and curiosity.

"Grover, Max Rose Lucas and Mari. All of you, Grover, lord of the wild and best friend of almost all present here. In case you are wondering, he is a satyr." answered Percy. He was grinning ear to ear.

Rose stepped forward. "Wait, did you say Lord of The Wild? Is he like, the biggest badest satyr in the wild?"

Thalia scoffed and said, "Like Grover is the badest goat out there, he couldn't harm a fly."

"Hey! I can be pretty bad when I want to be." Grover shouted indignantly.

Percy stepped in here. "Grover showed great bravery in the war last year, so the gods named him a Lord of The Wild. Basically, he is a big celebrity to all the other satyrs and nature spirits."

Grover blushed now. "Stop it. You sound like Juniper. So what are you doing here?"

"We were sent by our fathers to collect some demigod siblings." Nico said, "And Rose here happened to be in the area."

"Grover smells like enchiladas," exclaimed Max. Percy snorted with laughter. Grover shuffled his feet embarrassed. "I had some for breakfast. They have all the nutrition needed for a good day."

"So where is this exactly?" I asked. "Its like nothing I have ever seen."

Grover beamed proudly. "This" he said, "is a restored piece of The Wild. The nature spirits have been working hard to preserve this pristine place from the fowl touch of humans."

"Its amazing." Percy said. "You really have been living up to your promise to Pan."

Grover smiled sadly. "Yea, it really is. We are doing our best to restore one piece at a time, restoring The Wild over time." Then he sniffed the air, his expression concerned. "Have you run into any monsters recently?" he asked.

"Yes, we were tracking a wolf creature last night." Rose answered.

Grover's eyes widened in fear. "What? A wolf creature? Was it invisible?"

"Yea, so?" asked Thalia in concern. Grover just shook his head.

"If it is what I think it is, then you are in deep trouble. Please tell me you didn't slay It." he responded.

"Nico ran it through with a spire of obsidian. Is that bad?" Lucas asked.

Grover nodded. "Very. I think you encountered a Sirius hound."

"It wasn't that sirius, sir. Big brother killed it dead." Max piped up. It looks like Nico is his big brother now also. Or was he referring to Percy's involvement?

Grover chuckled. "Sorry, not a serious hound, a hound OF Sirius, which is even worse. You know about the star Sirius?" We all nodded. "Well Sirius is a star of disease. In the summer, his rage flares and he send an emissary of his rage onto the earth to wreak havoc and disease. Unfortunately, this hound cannot be killed. It can only be banished by a child of Apollo, a child of healing. Until you return to camp and find a child of Apollo, it will return every night and weaken you. You need to be careful, because its bites cause dozens of diseases in its victims, and its mere presence will cause a fever. It will also gain strength every night, so gather up those other demigods quickly."

We sat there for a second, sucking up our inevitable doom, when Nico finally said, "Well, it will be just like old times, running from certain death, huh."


	9. Desert Flower

**Here is a bit of back story for ya'll. hope you enjoy it. Also, I noticed as I went back over my story that in chapter seven I accidentally called Rose Wendy. I fixed it up, so don't bother looking for it. Have a good holidays!**

**I do not own Percy Jackson or any of the characters.**

Desert Flower

**Mari P.O.V.**

Now that we needed to move quickly, Grover used his nature powers to teleport us all back to the god-mobile (my name for the bus.) It was like flying through the trees at a million miles an hour. It sounds like fun at first, but then you take into consideration that the branches were slapping my face the whole way.

We clambered into the bus and roared out of the park at top speed. Thalia was driving, and she drove like a maniac. I had to hold onto my seat in order to prevent myself from flying into the side of the bus. I chanced a look around. Nico's face was paler than normal; Max was perched on Percy's lap loving every minute of it. Lucas was trying to talk with Rose, but between her sexism and the bus he was getting nowhere.

I scooted up to one of the front seats next to Thalia. She looked at the road with no indication of seeing me, but then said, "So, getting used to this half-blood thing yet?"

I was a bit stunned that she would talk to me, so it took me some time to answer. "I guess. Its hard to accept that I am the daughter of a god, and of Hades of all the gods." She must have detected the note of disgust/dismay that accompanied my fathers name, because she nodded like she agreed with me.

"I had a hard time coping with the fact that I was the daughter of Zeus. Being a child of Hades id not that bad. Just look at what Nico can do. Summon skeletons, shadow travel, obsidian. Plus thanks to Percy the children of Hades are not outcasts anymore." She replied.

"Wait, I'm an outcast?" I practically shrieked. Thalia swerved into oncoming traffic and cursed before swinging back into the right lane. "Jeeze dead head don't scream like that. Ill lose my concentration. And to answer your question, no, you are not an outcast any more. Last year, probably, but people have seen the worth of the children of Hades and accept them more than before." She briefly looked at me with a comforting smile. Then her expression turned a bit darker. "But don't think that you will be like any other person. Us children of the big three-"

"Wait." I interjected, "The big three are our fathers, right?"

She glared at me, and her punk attire gave her the look that she was really mad at me, which would not be good. But there was a hint of playfulness in her eyes. "Never interrupt me. Yes, the children of our fathers are often treated with either fear of distain. The other demigods view us as overly powerful and dangerous. We aren't as bad as we look, but the others often jump to conclusions. Plus you have us. Us cousins have to stick together. If you have any problems, just come and talk to me."

"Hey Thalia" Percy shouted from the back, "Mind easing up on the gas? This isn't the sun chariot."

"Shut up kelp head!" she retorted. "Grover said that we needed to move fast, so Im moving fast."

After sitting in silence for about five minutes, Thalia's ADHD prompted her to say, "What was your life like back at home?"

Relieved that I no longer had to sit in silence, I answered, "Well, I lived with my mom. She works as a Set designer in Vegas. I have always lived there with her and Lucas and his mom."

"You and Lucas have been friends for your whole life?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yep. As long as I can remember."

She gave me a sly grin. "So, any feelings for dashing young Lucas perhaps?" I could feel myself flushing so I gave a politician's answer, "No comment."

She just smirked. "That's a very informative answer you just gave me."

A bit alarmed, I looked intently at her. "How did that give you any more information on my feelings about him?" I asked hurriedly

Thalia chuckled. "Now I know that you have some kinds of feelings for him because you were to embarrassed to answer with a straight forward answer. So fess up, any feelings?"

I sighed, knowing that I would never get her off my back if I didn't tell her, so I leaned forward and lowered my voice. "Yes, I do have some feelings for him. But its not love or anything, so don't get the wrong ideas."

"Oh Mari" she sighed, like she was scolding a dog, "It's not that easy. The more you try and deny these feelings, the stronger they will become."

I stuck my nose defiantly in the air. "Well I won't let them. Those feelings better look out, because I'm going to crush them."

Thalia shrugged. "I can't say that I am the expert on love, having sworn it off forever, but that may not be the best thing to do. He may be the right one for you, you know? Just think about it a bit."

And I did. I thought about them the entire rest of the way.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

**Nico P.O.V.**

"Hey, wake up. Were here."

I shook my new sister awake. Wow. A new sister. It was finally starting to settle in. I had a new sister, and a younger one at that. It felt weird to be the older sibling now, not the young vulnerable one. Well, Mari was NOT young or vulnerable. She was a B.A.M.F from what I had seen and heard from Lucas. I was looking forward to spending time at camp with her.

She muttered and rolled over on the chair. I noted that she liked to sleep, much like me. Maybe it runs in the family. I sighed and used a trick that Bianca had used on me. I pinched her nose between my thumb and forefinger, and sure enough, she started to sputter and woke up quickly.

"What the HELL was that for Nico!" she yelled at me.

I chuckled and said, "Well, were here and you were fast asleep, so I had to wake you up."

"Why didn't you just shake me like a normal person?" she said, miffed.

"I did, like seven times. You just shrugged me off and went on sleeping."

She pouted. "Your a lousy brother for waking me up like that."

I just continued to laugh. I loved having a sister again. But it had started a bit more gingerly than how it was now.

*Flashback*

I threw open the door of the hotel room and was meet with a surprising but not to unfamiliar scene. Two empousai held two teenagers who were bound and gagged, their eyes full of fear. I was about to advance into the room when the boy started to glow. He was literally glowing, and was increasing his light output quickly. I averted my gaze, but I could still see the blinding flash through my eyelids. I could hear the empousai screech and two thuds that sounded like the teens.

I opened my eyes quickly and saw the empousai writhing on the ground clutching at their eyes. I ran over to one and twisted her neck like an owls, only she disintegrated when her neck went farther than 180 degrees. She exploded into gold dust, which scattered all over my brand new tux. The other one was slowly was regaining herself, but the diamond necklace around her neck tightened like a noose, severing her head clean off of her shoulders.

I looked over at the girl. She was staring with pure fear at the now dusted empousai. Her friend was knocked out, his eyed rolling back into his head. I summoned a jagged piece of obsidian and cut the girl's bonds in no time. "Go find help!" I shouted at her. She stood for a moment, looking with horror at me, but then her expression hardened a bit and she ran out of the room. I knelt down to where the boy was and unbound him.

I was kneeling over him, making sure he had no physical injuries when Percy Thalia Max and the girl burst into the room. "What did you do corpse breath?" Thalia shrieked at me.

"I was just making sure he was o.k. pinecone face." I retorted. Percy strode over and looked him over quickly. After his quick examination he picked the boy up and slung him over his shoulder. "Take us to the room." he said to me.

We ran up to the room, taking the girl with us. She nodded mutely and followed us up when we told her to follow. We finally made it to the suite, and Percy laid the boy down on a sofa. He woke up almost instantly, looking around bewildered. The girl embraced him and I could hear his breath being crushed out of him.

*Fast forward a bit*

"Your father is…Hades."

I stood by and watched with new found interest as the girl, Mari, was told by her mother who her father was. Looks like dad did break the big three pact after all, and now I had a new sister.

Mari looked at her mother with a look of pure horror. Hey, its not that bad I told her in my mind. You get all kinds of cool powers and stuff. The two of them talked a bit more, before Mari's mom left, telling her daughter to be safe.

I walked on over to her. Mari was still standing in the same place, looking bewildered at the wall. "Hey" I said. She turned slowly towards the sound of my voice, and it took a few seconds for her to register that I was there. "Your Nico, right?" she asked hesitantly. I nodded. "Am I really a child of Hades?"

"I guess." I said.

"How?" She asked hoarsely.

"Well, from my knowledge of the human reproduction system-"

"Not like that!" she said, cutting me off irritated. "How could my mom, one of the nicest people I know, hook up with the lord if the dead?"

I shrugged. "Hey, my mom was pretty awesome to. She was a movie star and she was not even afraid of the wrath of Zeus, and yet she 'hooked up' with our father."

She barred her teeth in disgust. "And yet, I still can't believe this is happening."

I was offended. This girl was ashamed that she was the daughter of one of the most powerful gods in the universe. Our dad. He wasn't that bad now. But I could see where she was coming from. Hearing that you are the child of the Lord of the dead? Not a pleasurable experience. I sighed and tried to explain to her. "Hey, its not that bad being the child of a god. You get all sorts of cool powers."

"I would rather be a regular person than the daughter of Hades." she said with venom. I threw my hand up in exasperation. "Why don't you talk to your friend, I am sure he will take your mind off of this."

*Fast forward*

I sat down next to Mari on the bus as we rumbled to our next stop. It was the next day after we had first met Mari and Lucas and I had bought us an awesome bus. Mari looked weary, like learning who her father was draining her energy. "Hey" I said delicately. She just continued to stare out the window. "So, how are you doing?"

She glared at me like this was all my fault, even if it kind of was. "I feel terrible, O.K? The knowledge that my mysterious father who I thought was an upstanding ambassador is really the lord of the DEAD has nicely crushed my spirits."

We returned to the silence that had prevailed before. After about ten minutes of my ADHD screaming at me to move I spoke again. "It honestly is not that bad as you think. Hades might not have been respected before last year, but he is now. He is not as bad as he was before last year."

"But he was still bad when he met my mother, so your arguments don't help at all." she retorted bitterly.

I sighed. Then an idea popped into my head. "Did your mom tell you all about her courtship with our father?"

She nodded mutely, still staring out the window. I sat there a bit more before prodding her. She jumped and glared at me with her diamond eyes. "What was that for?"

"For being such a irritating sister." I joked. She rolled her eyes. I prompted again what her mom had said to her. Ten minutes and a failed tickle attempt (she was apparently not ticklish) she caved in.

"My mom said that she had met him at a craft fair in Vegas fourteen years ago." she started. I was a bit surprised that dad was at a craft fair, but he was weird, so I dismissed it. "He courted her for the summer, and then left when she became pregnant with me. He ran away. That's what disgusts me, not so much the lord of the dead part."

I was surprised. Dad ran away from this woman when he learned that she was going to bear his child. I could understand why she was upset. Dad had run away from his breaking of the Big Three pact.

"Listen, don't think about dad. You have a new, awesome, handsome, dashing, brave brother, not to mention a group of awesome cousins."

She nodded again silently, and I decided to let her digest this information, and moved to the front of the bus by Percy.

*End Flashback*

While we had been in the park, we had bonded a bit more, and now she wasn't as sullen as when we first met her. She was grand. Bianca had always been scolding me, acting like I was a blob of annoying mold. Mari was the cool sister I never had, but because I was older than her I now had to be the over protective older sibling. I hope I wasn't as bad as Bianca.

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked around. We were at a small high school in a small town nestled in the mountains. The sun shone overhead, telling me that it was about noon. Students milled around the general vicinity on their lunch break.

Rose led us to the front of the school where the visitor's window was. "I have to pick up my brother." she said sweetly to the secretary.

"Do you have a note from a parent?" the secretary asked.

Rose gave a forged note that said that her brother needed to leave school. The secretary studied the note, looking for a possible forgery. After almost a minute she found it satisfactory and told us to go retrieve him.

We wander through the school yard until Rose pointed out a boy with spikey blond hair and stormy blue eyes, head bent as he looked at a text on his phone. "Gabe!" she shouted. He didn't respond. She kept on shouting at him, and after thirty second she snorted in frustration. She made a finger gun and shot it at him. He frowned, and looked around in confusion. When saw his sister he broke out in a grin and jogged over to us. "Hey there sis." he said.

Rose rolled her eyes and said, "I told you, don't call me sis!"

I looked over at Percy and Thalia and saw that they to were trying not to grin. These two sounded like another pair of children of Zeus.

He held his hands up in mock surrender, still grinning. "You didn't have to use an EMP to get my attention, you could have just called my name."

She huffed. "I did call your name, but you were so busy texting some girl that you didn't hear me."

"Ah, excuse me." Mari said, "But what is an EMP?"

Gabe turned his attention to her and regarded her carefully. "Why, its an electro magnetic pulse sugar, disrupts electronics. Say, have we met?"

She shook her head and me offered a hand towards her, grinning so much I thought that he would shatter his teeth from the pressure. "Names Gabe, son of the all powerful Zeus. And what is your name gorgeous?"

"M-Mari. Nice to meet you." she stuttered, blushing a bit. I knew that this boy could be trouble, so I got ready to intervene. Fortunately, Rose got to him before I did.

She slapped him silly across the face, so much that he almost fell to the ground from the shock. He let go of Mari's hand in order to stop himself from falling. "Gabe Edward Benton, no flirting with family. Mari is a daughter of Hades, making her your cousin, making her OFF LIMITS!" she screamed. He nodded, dazed, but he managed to mutter some unintelligible words. "What did you say?" she asked.

"I said, 'another half-blood?'"

"Yes." Rose said, "This is Mari and Nico, children of Hades, Percy and Max, sons of Poseidon, Lucas son of Phosphorus, and our new sister Thalia. Now, there is a dog monster that will appear at night, so we need to get going. Now get on the bus before I drag you on by the ear."


	10. Salty Water

**Hope you had just as wonderful a Christmas as I did. to top it off, here is another present! Once again, reviews would be nice as they are a moral boost to my writing. But if you would like to just enjoy it, that is fine by me. Happy Holidays to all.**

**I do not own Percy Jackson or any of the characters.**

Salty water

Huf huf huf

Swish swish

Huf huf huf huf

Snap swish swish snap

Huf huf huf

Mel ran through the wheat fields that surrounded Guymon Oklahoma, running from his latest foster home, tears threatening to drench his face. But he refused to give in to weakness. He was strong, strong enough to live in the wild when he needed to. But thinking about his latest foster home ate away at his strength until he collapsed on the side of a road and choked back a sob.

He was alone.

He was alone on the side of the road far away from the chaos of the Johnson's house, filled to the brim with foster children who ignored him and made his life miserable.

The Johnsons were not that bad, it was the fact that they were trying to raise eleven, no, scratch that, now ten children of varying ages who caused trouble at every turn. Mel was tormented by these ten other children for the four months he had tried to endure them. Some had teased him for who he was, some had attacked him for who he was, and some just flat out ignored him.

They had targeted him out of all of everyone in the house because of the unusual things that would follow him. The salty springs that would well up in him footsteps, storms that would whip up when he became angry. And the creatures that seemed to find him where ever he went. He was attacked by a flock of eagles once, and they nearly carried him away before his parents came out and fended them off.

It wasn't just this house that gad made his life miserable. Out of the twelve foster home Mel had been to, he had run away from eleven. The house before the Johnsons was the only house he was forced to move from. Adam's house.

As Mel lay down in the damp ditch, he stared at the stars that Mel had taught him. Out here in Oklahoma, you could see hundreds, almost thousands of stars, spilled across the sky like a spilt bucket of shards of glass. His favorite constellation was one that had appeared three years again one night as he sat on the roof of his newest prison/foster home. It looked vaguely like a girl, arm outstretched holding a bow. It calmed him for some reason. He called her lucida venatrix, bright huntress.

Adam had taught him this bit of Latin two years after he had observed her in the night sky. Adam was the greatest foster parent Mel had ever had. It was just me, no other children to ruin his perfect relationship with his foster father. Adam had accepted him for who he was and not for the disasters that followed him.

Mel almost didn't notice the low growl that came from the wheat around him he was so absorbed in his thoughts. But the second time it was the unmistakable growl of a canine. Mel sat up, looking around cautiously for the sound. His eyes squinted as he strained to look at the red glow raising above the wheat behind him. It was dim, but was getting bigger and brighter as it noticeably moved towards him. Mel decided that the red swirling colors were not good and started to jog down the road. When he saw that it was defiantly following him, he broke into a run.

He ran and ran, but the thing continued to follow him. Mel's lungs burned and his heart pounded from the running, and after almost a mile he was near collapse. As he stumbled and fell, he glanced back and saw the monster finally.

It was a dog, a gigantic red mutt, foaming at the mouth, eyes rolling in its head. A snarl escaped from it's crocked teeth and Mel could feel to hot stale breath brush his face. It made his insides squirm and him blood boil with infection. He grew scared. This thing could kill him. In the distance he could hear the roar if a car engine, but it was much to far away to help. 'Never use your gifts unless you need them' Adam had once said.

Mel searched deep down for his gifts, gifts he had not used in four months, and brought them violently to the surface. As the dog began to lunge at him, the earth shook with so much that it lost it's balance and fell. Mel could feel the effects of the powers eating away at his heath, but he ignored the warning signs. He raised a hand towards the dog and the earth trembled more. But this time it was not a spastic quake, it was a full blown earthquake. The ground broke and crumbled, and the dog yelped as the earth below it shattered.

Then the earth collapsed into a hole, dragging down the creature and Mel. He went careening down the side of the hole until he reached the bottom fifteen feet down. He yelped and then yelled as he landed on his arm and heard an explosive crack emanating from it. The pain almost made him black out, but he took a deep breath and the pain reduced from excruciating to painful.

He looked up and saw that the creature was still there. Mel was almost drained of energy from his gift, and sat there defenseless as the monster hobbled towards him, a deep gash in its muzzle making it look more angry. Then he smelled something, a smell that accompanied a fresh storm. The hairs stood up on the back of his neck and he threw his good arm over his face not a moment to soon. An explosion ripped the bottom of the hole, throwing Mel against the wall and singeing his skin.

He looked up dazed, and saw no sign of the monster only a black mark where it had been standing. He looked at the top of the pit to see a girl with spiky black hair clambering down the side of the hole followed by an older boy who looked almost exactly like him.

He was losing his concentration, because next thing he knew they were bending over him asking him questions. He could not discern what they were saying, nodding mutely to whatever they wanted. The boy gingerly touched his damaged arm, and Mel nearly fainted from the pain that roared through his body. His abdomen was also hurt now that he concentrated. The girl picked him up, making sure that she avoided his arm, and carried him up to a weird bus/RV thing.

Mel was dimly aware of people around him, looking at him, taking off his sticky, wet bloody clothes and him laying on a bed in only his underwear. He blinked in and out of thought, swimming just below the surface of rational thought. He was fed a food that tasted like the pasta that Adam used to make for him. Finally he drifted into sleep, feeling his body mending already as he ceased to comprehend reality and was visited by dreams.

When I awoke, the first thing I could think of was why was I in bed?

I was clad only in my underwear, tucked under some sheets exactly like how Adam would tuck me in. Thinking of Adam drove a wave of sorrow through my mind, but I had to think of more important things, like where was I?

I tried to sit up, only laying back down as pain laced my body. I moved my head and saw my arm in an impromptu splint, a combination of arrows and curtains stiffly wound around my arm to keep it still. I also noticed that the hair on my arm was completely burned off, and I could feel the absence of my eyebrows.

"Look who finally decided to grace us with their presence." a female voice said, and I turned my head to the side to see a girl of about thirteen years looking at me. She was pretty, and I could feel the blood rush to my cheeks as I remembered my lack of cloths. She must have seen me blush, because she laughed. Her soft black hair flowed down her back, and her eyes sparked like a rare gem.

She got up and left, only to return with the spiky haired girl from before. This girl wore a thin circlet of silver on her head, and her electric blue eyes made me fearful of her. She studied me, then said, "Good morning sleeping beauty. Have a good rest?"

I nodded in response, a bit peeved by the nickname. "What is your name?" she asked me. I decided not to answer. I did not know these people, so it would be best if I stayed quiet. When the girl got no response, she asked again. I continued to refuse to answer, and the girl was getting angry fast. "I will ask one more time twerp, what is you name?" I gulped and opened my mouth to answer knowing it was time to do so, but when I tried to talk only a dry cough came out. I frowned, then tried again, only to achieve the same results.

The dark haired girl realized what was wrong, and grabbed a pad of paper at my bed side and gave it to. She helped me into a sitting position, and my skin burned where she touched it. I could feel a small fever on my brow, but it would go away. On the paper I wrote 'Menelaus' then as an after thought I also wrote 'or just Mel'.

The older girl nodded in satisfaction. "O.K. Mel. Thank you for finally telling us you name. My name is Thalia, and this is Mari. We were the ones who rescued you last night from that thing in the hole. Can you tell us what you were doing there?"

I took the pad back and wrote out 'I was running from the creature when the earth tumbled out from beneath me.' I decided to leave out my gift, seeing as I still did no know anything about these people, nice as they were.

Thalia studied the pad and her eyes narrowed when she looked at me. "Do you have a family?" This question caught me off guard, and I threw up walls to prevent any sign of weakness. I grabbed the pad back and scrawled out 'none. None at all.' I thrust the notepad back at her, anger building up inside me. That was none of her business.

She studied the paper, and said, "Well, you rest some more sour puss and we will talk later."

Both Thalia and Mari left me, and I fell into a restless sleep.

I dreamed that I was with Adam again.

It started like it always did. I was in an old van, trudging down a road to my newest foster home. My mother had died when I was two in an earthquake, and all my life I had only known foster homes. I had no dad. He had died in a fishing accident before I was born, so I was shipped around the country from home to home. This was my tenth home, and I had a feeling that it would not last long.

The social worker drove up to a log house in the middle of the woods. It was by far the largest house I had been to yet. 'more room for more kids' I thought grimly, already plotting my escape. When we stopped, a lone man came out to greet us. He was older, about sixty by my best guess. His salt and pepper hair covered his head. He was fit for an old guy, and he looked like he could easily be my grandfather.

We walked up to him with my luggage, and as far as I could see there were no other children. The man smiled warmly and there were smile wrinkles that rimed his eyes. "You must be Menelaus." he said. I nodded, not sure how I should Should respond. He chuckled good natured. "A shy one, aren't you?" I nodded again. "Well, it's you're house now also, so don't be a stranger and come on in."

We walked into the house together, the social worker trailing behind and giving us our space as the man gave me a tour. The house was dominated by a large central living room with a giant TV and a fire ring in the middle of the room. I pointed to the fire that jovially flickered in the pit and the man answered, "That is the central heating system. The warm air rises and circulates through the house to heat it. The fire always needs wood though, so you will need to learn how to use an ax."

Above the living room was a loft that the man said would be my room. It was enormous, with a queen sized bed, shelves and my own television. It was awesome. I had never had so much space to myself. I placed my meager possessions on the bed and continued on the tour, thinking about my new room.

We saw the kitchen which was filled with food and state of the art appliances. The man said that he had a garden in the summer and that most of the food was from the garden. I tried a tomato and found that it was positively delicious. Next the man showed me his room, which was quite plain, and the basement. It was full of old board games and random stuff. I thought I saw a bow and quiver of arrows sitting next to a bin of swords, but the man led me away before I could get a good look.

We returned to the living room where the social worker had a short discussion with the man. I could hear snippets of conversation. From what I could hear, it sounded a bit like this:

Social worker: You know , Menelaus is what we call a troubled boy. Are you confidant that you will be able to take care of him?

: Oh yes. I am quite confidant that I will be able to adequately take care of young Mel.

SW: You may change you're mind when I show you his records. (she hands a thick manila folder to ) He has ADHD, Dyslexia, and anger management problems. He often attacked the other children in his former foster homes.

Mr.C: As you can see, there are no other children here at present. I also plan on home schooling him so that I can give him the undivided attention that he needs.

SW: One more thing. It seems that strange things happen in the houses that he is staying at. Now, its just a rumor from a coworker, but I would consider it before you take him in.

Mr.C: thank you for that unneeded piece of advice. But I am steadfast in my resolve to adopt the young man you have brought me. Now, lets sign those papers.

Five minutes later, Mr.C was shaking the social workers hand, sealing the deal. We then watched her driving far away from this place. Mr.C turned to me and smiled. "Well, looks like its just you and me. You can call me Adam. Lets get you settled in, O.K?"

I smiled and nodded. This was going to be the best house to date.


	11. Fire in the Deep

**New chapter for the new year. Gained some inspiration from another literary work, so if you spot it kudos to you. Have a wonderful new year!**

**I do not own Percy Jackson or any of the characters.**

Fire in the deep

I sat next to the mystery boy in the back of the bus. We had retrieved him last night after the hound creature attacked him. Already its aura was affecting some of us. Nico had mucus building up in his nose that made him snore all night long. Max had a slight fever as well as ackyness. Mari had chills and her sinuses were worked up. Lucas had weird red dots sprouting over his arms, but he said it was because of dry skin. Both Thalia and I were fine so far. Thalia had the blessing of Artemis and my curse of Achilles prevented infection. But it was evident that we needed to speed up our progress of finding our siblings, or else we were in big trouble.

I took a good look at the boy known as Mel lying in the bed in front of me. He was like a miniature me. He was a head shorter, tall for his age, but thin as a twig. He had short cut black hair, and when his eyes had been open they were a dark green, like Max's when we first found him. As far as I could tell, his most probable parent was my father, Poseidon. Looks like I have another sibling.

Max quietly sat down next to me. We sat in silence for a few minutes, but it felt like forever because of our ADHD. His brow was furrowed, a look of pain and confusion on his face. His skin was red from a sudden fever from our friend the hound. Suddenly he sat straight up, his eyes flying open and a gasp escaping his lips.

He looked around, frowning. He grabbed his pad of paper and scribbled something on it. I took it from him and read 'where is Mari?' "She is resting now. Your Max, right?" He nodded. "That's good. My name is Percy, and this is my half-brother Max." After I had established that, I asked a question that would almost confirm if he was a demi-god. "Did you only have one parent?" Immediately his expression hardened and became more guarded. He nodded slowly, writing 'mother' on his note pad.

"Do you know about the Greek gods?" I asked again. He nodded. It was always a stupid thing that we had to ask every camper this question. Really, what idiot wouldn't know about the Greek gods? Mel must not be an idiot, because he nodded again. I continued. "Well, they are real." His eyes widened in disbelief. Typical. "And sometimes the gods come down to earth and have mortal children. All of us on this bus, including you, are the children of gods."

Mel turned his head to the side to ponder this fact. I remembered the first time I had heard this, one of my most fuzzy demi-god memories to be sure. Sitting there on the porch of the big house dumbstruck while a calm game of cards went on around me.

Mel grabbed the paper and wrote out 'who is my father then?' I leaned back in my chair. "I think, stressing the think part, that you may be the son of Poseidon, lord of the ocean. If that was the case, then you would be me and Max's brother." I motioned to Max and I respectively. Mel's eyes widened in disbelief. He wrote down 'My father may be POSEIDON?' then as an after thought he wrote 'If my father is the all powerful sea god, why has he not helped me?'

This was always hard to explain to new demigods. I sighed and rubbed my temples in exasperation. "The gods are bound to a set of ancient rules that prevents them from interfering directly. But they can send help. Our father sent me to find both you and Max, so there is one way he has helped you."

Mel lay back on the bed and closed his eyes and started to contemplate. Shortly thereafter he was asleep. Looks like he shared that gift with Tyson. "Come on" I said to Max, "Lets let his sleep."

We walked to the front of the bus and joined Nico and Lucas in a game of Super Mario Bros. Lucas kept on loosing his focus because he kept on glancing at Mari, who was talking to Rose. Gabe was sitting in the back, looking out the window while listening to his iPod.

All was well.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

I sat in the back of the bus next to the sleeping form of my brother Mel. I had been reading the Aeneid by Virgil for a while, and all the epic poetry was making me weary. I put the book down and my thoughts drifted to Annabeth.

I must have tuned out for a while, because a voice said to me "Well look whose living up to the name seaweed brain." I jerked out of my chair so fast that I fell on the floor. Blearily I looked up to see a hazy circle of mist hovering over Mel's bed with a girl laughing openly at me within.

"Annabeth!" I sighed. Realizing that I still look like a kelp head, I got up and settled back into my chair. I was overjoyed at the sight of my girlfriend. Being cooped up with your cousins for even a small amount of time was frustrating. Four to five days was just to much to bear without a friendly face every once in a while.

"So what is the quest you are on now?" she asked in an inquisitive tone.

"Oh Anna, you know, trekking across the country with my two favorite cousins to find our long lost siblings." I replied nonchalant.

A look of surprise appeared on her face. "You have siblings?"

I shrugged. "All the gods have multiple children. My father wasn't the exception like we thought." At that moment Max conveniently sauntered back to where we were to investigate the noise I had made earlier.

"Percy? Are you O.K?" He asked.

"I'm fine little buddy. Come over here and meet my girlfriend."

He obliged and sat next to me, staring wide-eyed at the image in front of him. He waved sheepishly and mumbled something that sounded like 'hello'. Annabeth waved back and smiled. "And what might be you're name?" she asked.

"Max" he mumbled, eyes downcast. I noticed that Max was very shy around older people.

"Well Max" Annabeth said gently, "My name is Annabeth. I am a good friend of Percy. Can you tell me who your godly parent is?"

"Same as Percy." His reply was so quiet that I had to lean nearer to him in order to hear his reply.

Annabeth had also leaned closer to hear him also. After I had him repeat himself louder (four times), her expression changed into one of surprise then acceptance. "I suppose I should have expected you to have half-siblings, considering your dad. The fact that you have had no idea about them is more surprising."

I feigned hurt. "Are you saying that I am thick headed?"

"That is precisely what I am saying Perseus." She replied with a wave of her hand. She acted like it was nothing, but I could see a smile playing on her lips.

"So where are you now?" She asked.

I looked outside at the rolling planes of dust and cattle. Defiantly not my kind of place. No water as far as the eye could see. It was slowly draining Max's and my life-force. It defiantly was not helping Mel's recovery. "Somewhere in the middle of Texas. Our next stop is a small place near water, thank the gods, a town named Fitch or something."

"What kind of demigod would want to live in Texas of all places?" She said.

"I know! That's what I said when I saw that we were coming here." I said, throwing my hands up in exasperation. Annabeth giggled, which was very un-Annabeth like, and Max also laughed. They looked like they were warming up to each other, which was good to know.

"Well, I was just checking up on my favorite boyfriend, making sure that he was still alive."

I snorted. "You think that after all I have been through I, the great Percy Jackson, would be in danger?"

This time it was Annabeth's turn to snort. "He might have died from an over inflated ego."

"What's an ego Annabeth?" Max piped up.

"Well, its like what a person thinks of them self. If they think highly of them self, like you're brother here, we say they have a big ego." Answered Annabeth. I am so glad I have a smart girlfriend.

The bus stared to slow down, and Thalia shouted from the front that we were at our destination. "Looks like we have to go." I said to Annabeth.

She blew me a kiss, said goodbye to Max and I, and waved a hand through the mist.

I turned to Max. "Lets find another relative, shall we?"

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

The town we had stopped in was small. Tumble weeds blew down the street at regular intervals. Thalia and her siblings decided to stay on the bus to watch over Mel and to get to know each other better. That left Nico, Mari, Max, Lucifer and myself to find our newest camper.

We calmly walked down the streets as the sun slowly sank down below the horizon. The town was almost deserted. We saw only a handful of people living here.

"I am getting bad vibes from this place, like the feeling Minos use to give me when I was near him." Nico said with a shiver.

I laughed. "Did you hang out with to many people from the 80's when you were in the Lotus Casino?"

He scowled. "Hey! I am being serious here."

I continued to laugh, but I had the same feeling in the pit of my belly. Something sinister lurked here, something evil. And it was getting worse the farther into town we went.

The stars were glinting in the sky when we saw what could account for the feeling of dread blanketing the town. The streets were dark, but I saw the flicker of fire spreading across the corner in front of us. Quickly I pulled Max into an adjacent ally, Nico and the others following close behind. I put a finger over my mouth to signal them to be quiet.

I looked around the corner to see over a dozen people in long black robes with cowls walking down the street. Half of them carried blazing torches. A low rumble emanated from beneath the hoods, the product of the joining of twelve voices in perfect harmony. And in the center of the group was a boy, lashed onto a large wooden board. He was being carried aloft by four of the creepy druids and was struggling against his bonds.

Nico poked his head out as well, his eyes narrowing as he watched. "What do you think?" I asked him.

"It looks like some kind of extreme pagan ritual. I've seen a few in books and in my travels in Europe." He said

"Wait, you have been to Europe?" I said. "Without me?"

Nico rolled his eyes and replied, "Yea, when I was searching for clues about my mother."

I backed of on the subject, knowing that he was still sensitive to it. "Lets follow and see what's shaking with the pagans."

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

We followed the murmuring hooded figures to an old playground, which looked about as old as my father. In the center was a rusted merry-go-round, which is where they placed the writhing boy. Then they spread out in a circle, encompassing the boy at the twelve points of a clock face. The chanting changed from something Germanic to a language that I had heard once before, at the mouth of a pit in the underworld. The language of magic.

Glancing over at Nico, I saw that he was hearing the same thing. "We need to save that boy." He hissed. "I have heard this once before, in a brutal exorcism that I witnessed in Germany. His life is in danger."

I looked back at the ritual and my blood ran cold. Two of the people stood over the boy, one of them holding a knife. As I watched, the hooded person carved what looked like runes in the boys bare skin, a sick hissing sound accompanying each scratch. The boy screamed against a gag in his mouth and strained against his bonds.

The chanting was reaching its apex when all hell broke lose.

As the hooded people raised their hands, an ear-shattering crack could be heard. A sight I had only seen once before unfolded before me. The ground opened beneath the ground of the circle like a misshapen maw of some great beast, spiting fire and swallowing ten of the people in an earth-shattering roar. The other two, standing on an island in the center if the circle, were spared for a short time. Then the boy burst from his bonds in a ferocity roar, ropes flying from where they once bound him. He proceeded to grab the arm of the person with the knife and tore it from his shoulder. He swung the arm and hit the other person in the head. A sickening crack resounded through out the grounds, and the person fell like a marionette with its cords cut. The boy turned on the other person and brained them in turn.

In less than forty seconds, the procession that was exorcising the boy had been killed in a truly violent act. We were all stunned at this display at the boy's primal ferocity. We sat and stared as the boy slid his legs over the side of the merry-go-round and licked the grey matter that had splattered on his lips off. Then he got up and spoke in a new language, one I had also heard once before, only in an abandoned prison. The language of the earth this time.

The earth cracked at a fissure that appeared before the boy. The cracks widened, and a strange red glow started to emanate from between the cracks. But the glow looked like the reflections off of water on a wall, except the glow was red, not blue. Pieces of the earth fell, leaving a space that looked as if it was the mouth of a volcano, lava far at the bottom reflecting on the mouth far above. After a sizable hole had formed, a shadowy hand as large as my forearm reached from the depths and grasped the edge. A second hand followed, and a figure hauled itself up from the ravine.

It was twice as tall as a man and was wreathed in shadows like fog. It had no definite form, but looked somewhat human. Fire danced along the things body, illuminating the surroundings in an eerie light. The thing rumbled in the language of the primordial, and the boy responded in the same tongue. He motioned to the town, and the thing almost looked like it nodded. Giant wings that did not exist before spread out behind the thing, and it lifted itself into the air and flew into the town.

"What just happened?"

The question came from Mari, who was shaking to the roots of her long black hair. I was to stunned to answer. But Nico was less affected by the spectacle than the rest of us, because he could answer without his voice shaking. "What happened was a boy murdered twelve people and summoned a nearly forgotten creature from the depths of Tartarus. That means we have to stop him. Now, before he hurts any more people."

Lucas visibly gulped. "You mean, possibly die first?"

Nico nodded. "Its part of being divine. We need to accept it and hope we can obtain our goal. Now, who is ready for almost certain doom?"


	12. Oh the Things You Will See

Fire and Shadow

Luke was astonished by the sight that was before him. Two people dead from bludgeoning, ten people swallowed by the earth, and a creature that had appeared where they had disappeared. True, mythology was crazy, but the display he had witnessed was off the charts. It made his knees buckle, but Nico helped steady him. "We deal with this all the time. You have to get used to it." he said. Lucas nodded, still dazed.

'I can do this' he thought to himself while he gripped Twilight tighter. Twisting the cap of the flashlight, he felt the bow spiral to life beneath his fingers. The warm wood felt comforting.

Percy spoke up. "We split up. Max and Lucas, you are with me. Mari goes with her brother. My group will take care of the boy and your group can take care of the monster. Report back at the bus when you have acceaved your goal. Got it? Good. Go!"

They scattered into their groups, heading to their destinations.

$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&$&

Even with his godly sight, Lucas had a hard time pinpointing the thing. It gave off a massive amount of ultraviolet and X-ray 'light' as well as a small dose of Gamma rays. But it was also shrouded by an ever encompassing cloak of shadows that disrupted the light coming from it making it hard to find it.

"Can you see it?" Percy asked. Lucas nodded and pointed Twilight in the direction of the creature. It was currently dismantling a house, tearing it apart as a toddler might do to a dollhouse. People had started to come to their senses and were fleeing from the thing as it moved through the town. It would roar once in a while at them, but would return to its mindless task of razing the town.

To Lucas it looked almost like it was searching for something. It would rip the roof off the house, look inside, and then flatten the rest with appendages that extended from the mass of shadows. It looked mindless in its task, but Lucas could sense the malevolence radiating from the creature. It wanted to kill and cause more than minor destruction, but was held in check by a more powerful force.

"What now?" Asked Max in a trembling voice. Lucas had almost forgotten the smaller son of the Sea God.

"We attack it." Percy said. Lucas looked at his in a manner most befitting of horror. When Percy saw him he chuckled lightly. "I will attack it first to see what its weakness are. Then we take it from there."

Lucas swallowed visibly. "You haven't thought this out at all, have you?"

Percy grinned and ran off to the thing, yelling back "Take care of Max and don't let him die."

Lucas and Max sat dumbfounded in the ditch they were crouching in. Finally Lucas came to his senses and shook Max. "Come on." he said, "We need to get higher."

They found an apartment building that was three stories high, just enough that they could still see the creature. It was engaged in smashing another building when a five-foot spike of ice impaled it in its center. A figure leaped at the wounded creature, but he looked disoriented when he attacked. The thing finally took a tangible form, and my breath left Lucas when he saw it.

The beast stood fifteen feet tall with two legs and two arms. But the body looked like it was made of black volcanic rock, and was cracked in places. Fire shown through the cracks, and the light pulsated in a rhythm not unlike that of a heart. Two shadowy wings extended thirty feet behind it; smoke curling off of its entire body in ominous waves. It held a fiery whip in its hand, and would flick it every once in a while. The face resembled a skull with two horns sweeping back into peaks. It was a twisted creature of both light and dark, and entirely of death.

A thunder crack pealed across the sky as rain stared to fall from the heavens. Fires illuminated the destruction before us as sounds of fighting came from where we had come from. Lucas ignored it and focused on the fight unfolding before us.

Percy had rushed the beast, dodging the whip with skill. He stabbed at the foot, and a gout of flame spurted from where he hit. Max and Lucas cheered, but not for long as the creature backhanded Percy and sent him flying. The flames from its wounds disappeared as it closed up. It advanced on Percy who was struggling to rise. When it moved, the edges of its form blurred and it gave the impression of water flowing over rocks. Then the whip cracked and changed into a seven-foot long sword. It lunged at Percy who rolled out of the way just in time.

The sword changed back into a whip and it flicked it at Percy. Percy managed to grab a hold of it and the flames were extinguished as water raced along its length. Then using the water around him, Percy created a wave that engulfed the monster. The fire that burned at its core was doused, and it disappeared into the darkness around it.

Lucas and Max cheered and ran down to congratulate Percy on his victory. As they were approaching him though his expression changed from joy to horror. This puzzled the boys until Lucas felt a force slam into his side and send him flying ten feet.

Lucas groaned and turned toward the place he had been standing moments before. He saw nothing on any of the color spectrums, except a black patch that moved in the air. He gasped and realized the thing was still there; only it was literally a shadow of its former self. But it was still there.

It lunged at Max, who was staring in horror at the demon before him, but a wave of water pushed him towards Percy.

Lucas realized that he needed to help and pulled out Twilight. Once the bow had reached full size the thing turned and looked squarely at Lucas. He noticed that it was not staring at him, but at the bow, which was glowing softly. 'It is attracted to the light' Lucas thought. With more confidence than he thought he had, he pulled out an arrow and aimed at the creature. It roared and charged at him, but was unable to get to him before the arrow hit home. It roared again and fell back, grasping at the arrow in its shoulder. Lucas noted that the darkness was disappearing from where the arrow hit, like a piece of fabric unraveling.

Lucas fumbled for another arrow while the beast charged again. He finally got the arrow in the bow and was aiming at the creature when it punched him, sending him skywards. Lucas felt the sensation of weightlessness before he plummeted to the ground. Just before he hit the ground, he fell into a hand of water that prevented all of his bones breaking into little pieces. Instead, only one broke. A gunshot ecoed through the hand as his tibia broke, sending pain lacing through his body.

Lucas tried to cry out in pain but swallowed a mouthful of water instead. He closed his mouth and bit his lip so hard he broke the skin. He felt the ground on his back and the water receded, leaving him lying on the ground dazed.

Max rushed over with Twilight in his hand. He kneeled down and looked worriedly at Lucas. "Percy said you needed the bow. Its all that can hurt the monster now."

"I can't!" Lucas shouted, groaning at the same time because of his leg. He took a deep breath and refocused. "My leg is broken, the left one."

Max glanced back at his legs and nodded, concern on his face. "The bone is sticking out." He said in a slightly hushed tone.

Lucas felt a wave of nausea wash through him. 'This can not be happening.' he thought to himself. 'I should be in Vegas, having a fun summer in the casino, not laying on the ground with my leg broken and a monster that only I can defeat.'

Max was trying to help Lucas up when Lucas had an idea. "I know." he said, "I can lean on you for support while shooting."

"Yea." Max grunted. "But you will have to get up yourself."

With Max's help, Lucas managed to stand without his left leg. Then he got to see the battle in front of him.

Closest to him Percy was fighting the shadow of the creature relentlessly. He was putting up a good fight, but his weapons of ice could not kill the creature. They would pass right through it. But the beast could not harm him either because of his curse. They were evenly matched.

Lucas hoisted his bow and managed to pull the arrow back while Max supported him on his left side. He took careful aim, just as Thalia taught him, and fired off a shot. The arrow fired strait and true and hit the beast in the chest. The shadow around the arrow unraveled and left a large hole in the monsters chest. It turned to look for its attacker, but was distracted by the boy at its feet. Lucas fired another shot, and another, and one final shot before it unraveled into nothing, leaving only the skull.

Lucas felt amazing, having killed the monster, but the pain shot back into his leg as Max collapsed from exhaustion. He yelled and collapsed as well, falling in a jumble of limbs. Percy ran over, the skull clutched in his hand. "What happened?" he asked hurriedly.

"I broke my leg, and Max held me up so that I could kill that thing." Lucas said.

Percy looked at his leg and the color drained from his face. "Here," he said, "I can clean away the gore."

Lucas nodded weakly. A moment later he felt water running around the bare nerve endings exposed in his leg. It felt like it should have hurt much more, but was not as bad as he thought it should have been. "Alright. Now that that is done, I can try and splint you're leg. And it will hurt." Lucas barely had time to register what he meant when a searing pain shot through his leg, enough to make him pass out.

When he woke back up, his leg was encased in ice and Percy and Max were leaning over him. When his eyes fluttered open, both breathed a sigh of relief. "We thought we had lost you there." Percy joked. Then he placed something warm in Lucas's hands. "I thought that you should have these spoils of war." He said somberly. Lucas lifted his head up enough to see the skull grinning back at him from his hands. It was the top half of human skull with two spiraled horns sweeping back.

"Why do I get this again?" He asked nervously. He did not want a skull as a keepsake of his first battle.

"Every time you defeat a monster, it will leave something behind. We call them spoils of war." Percy said matter of factly.

"Do they come with special powers?" Lucas asked.

Percy shrugged. "Some do, some don't. Depends on the monster."

"What about this thing?" Lucas asked.

Percy shook his head. "I have never heard of or fought this creature. I can't tell you what it is or what it leaves behind."

Lucas placed it on the ground as far away from himself as possible. "I want nothing to do with this. It can stay in this wasted town." Then he held up his arms. "Come on, I want to find out if the others have accomplished their goal."

Percy grinned and hauled him up, letting Lucas lean on him for support. "Lets hope my cousins haven't burned down the town."

And so they walked off, leaving the skull behind them on the pavement.


	13. Float Like a Harpy, Sting Like a Fury

**Once again, I present late Sunday night ****classics. Whipped this up in two hours, so might not be my best work. No matter. It continues the plot, so it must be good! One more time, reviews are VERY welcome. I love the feedback. Until next time.**

**I do not own Percy Jackson or any of the characters.**

Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Fury

Mari's teeth were chattering so hard that she was sure the demonic ten year old in front of her could here her from where she and Nico were hiding 100 yards away. And she had good reason to. This kid had just killed twelve people in cold blood and summoned a gigantic creature that was rampaging around the town. And it was her's and Nico's job to figure out why.

"Are you sure that we need to take this guy on?" she whispered to him once more. Even if she had asked about twenty times already, she was hoping that he would change his mind and they would go out and get ice cream instead.

"Yes, we do." he said again in a now hushed and slightly annoyed tone. "I have a hunch that he is a demigod, and a very powerful one at that. We need to subdue him and try and find out why he did what he did."

"I can tell you why he did it." Mari said exasperated, "He was being sacrificed by some cult and he did not like being sacrificed. So he used his all powerful divine powers and got them out of the way."

Nico held up a hand for silence. "Trust me," he said, "I just know that we need to get him to talk. He is giving off an aura that is something I know all to well. But it is faint, and I need to be closer to get a confirmation."

Mari shuddered at getting closer to the monster in the boys flesh. It would not be pleasant.

Nico snapped to get her attention, which she did not particularly like, and started to whisper. "Here is how we are going in. I will approach from the front and you will approach at a 120 degree angle from me. Hopefully I can keep his attention while you come in from behind and knock him out." Then he stopped and considered something. "Do you know how to fight?" he asked.

Mari was indignant. "Of course I know how to fight!" She whispered loudly. "I took MMA after school for five years because of how much I was bullied."

Hands up, Nico backed off very quickly. "Sorry, I should have known better from your beefy and sinewy body."

The black eye she gave him would remind him for weeks that his sister did not like to be called beefy.

After she had roused him from his knocked out state, she started to crawl away from their hiding space behind the garbage dumpster. "Where are you going?" Nico groaned, then withering under the gave that was directed his way.

"I was carrying out the plan that you told me not two minutes ago." She whispered fiercely. After sending him another glare she continued to crawl away.

"Its like a miniature Bianca." Nico grumbled to himself, remembering the many times where almost the same thing would happen between the two of them. But the wave of sadness that overcame him was no more than a trickle. He had come to peace with his sister a long time ago. Now she could just be a fond memory that he would look up to.

He sighed and shook his head. "Being an older brother is harder than I thought it would be." He muttered as he stood up and walked towards the park where death awaited.

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The boy in the center of the playground was no more than ten years old. He could pass as any other boy his age, if it was not for the tattoos that marched around his arms and chest. The runes and symbols that made up the tattoos shimmered with an eerie glow, illuminating the darkness around him. The face of the boy could not have passed as normal either. It was older, more withered and defined than that of an adolescence. The scowl that accompanied did not improve the image. He looked like a collage student mixed with a ten year old. But it was still a ten year old, no matter how old he looked close up.

Nico had to keep reminding himself this as he walked slowly closer. The fire from the recycled tires used to create the terrain cast a baleful light across the grounds and the people within it. The corpses lying on the ground near the merry go round glinded with menace.

'They are dead, and therefore I control them' Nico thought. His gaze shifted to the only other living being in front of him who gazed back with cold indifference.

Nico lifted a hand to feel the first few drops of rain that were falling. "Lovely weather we are having, isn't it?" He inquired. The boy continued to look at him without saying anything.

"You mind me asking why you are possessing this innocent young child?" Nico said. this time he got a reaction.

The boy stirred, as if waking from a deep slumber. His jaw opened, but did not move. Instead a slightly raspy response floated out of the open mouth. "Because he is much like the both of us. He is a child of Hades. And he summoned me."

Nico recoiled at the response. He had the faint suspicion that this boy was possessed, but by another child of Hades was completely ludicrous. And the child being possessed was also a child of Hades. That meant that in the area of about a mile there were four children of Hades. The aura they must be giving off to monsters must be astronomical. Nico managed to recover his wits enough to ask "And why were those people trying to exorcise you?"

The voice chuckled from the unmoving mouth and replied "Why do you think? They were about to harm my host and I needed to keep myself safe. As I do now." The boys mouth closed and he raised his arm. The tattoos brightened and seven skeletons clawed their way out of the earth, grinning at Nico.

"The servants of our father will not hurt one of their master's children." He said confidently, but was somewhat unsure if this was true. He had heard of children of Hades fighting each other with armies of the dead. His fears were confirmed when they raised their arms and rushed at him.

Acting quickly, Nico summoned a spear of bone and bashed the skull of the first skeleton clean off. The next lunged at him, but he managed to avoid it and swept the legs out from underneath in, sending the bones tumbling down in a pile. Even if he had managed to defeat the first two easily, the next five would be harder. They circled him, preventing him from attacking one at a time. Whenever he would turn around, there would be one behind him, preventing him from focusing on the ones in front of him.

After a minute of circling, Nico managed to sweep out with his spear and bash the skeleton in front of him. Now with a hole in circle, he managed to get outside of it and take down two more. The last two were a piece of cake for the boy who had trained against skeletons for as long as he could remember.

He whirled around puffing and glared at the boy. The face was still expressionless, but Nico could sense the anger emanating from the specter within it. "Very good," the chilling voice said. "But you have to get through me first."

Nico leveled his spear as the boy started to come forward. But his preparation was in vain, for a blow was delivered to the back of the neck of the boy, sending him to the ground before he had move his foot.

Mari stood triumphantly over her KO-ed opponent. "That is for possessing my newest brother."

Nico smiled and rushed over. "Good job there muscles." He teased.

"Watch it, or else you will have a matching black eye to go with the one you have right now." She threatened. But she was grinning with joy.

"Now is not the time to abuse your older brother." Nico shot back, kneeling over the boy. After a quick examination he started to run off.

"Hey!" Mari shouted. "Now is not the time to run away! He is harmless."

"I know." He shouted back. after looking around for something, he ran back. In his hand he was holding a burning stick, the end blazing. "We need to sear off the tattoos on his body. That will remove the binding on the boy and will release the spirit."

Mari's eyes widened in disbelief. "You can't be serious. That will be very painful!"

Nico nodded. "That is why you need to hold him down. The only other way right now is to continue to do that ceremony, and that would hurt him even more. So that is why I am doing this. Trust me, I am not happy about this either."

As soon as Mari had (reluctantly) secured the boy, Nico pressed the makeshift brand against the boy's skin. His eyes flew open and a howl of great pain ripped through his larynx.

Mari had to use all of her strength to hold him down. It lasted over a minute of pain for all of them before the howls died down. Nico grabbed some water and poured it over the fresh burn wounds that covered the boy's body. "Come on." he kept on muttering.

The boys eyes fluttered open, revealing red irises. "What happened?" He asked weakly.

"You were possessed. We removed the spirit." Nico said gently. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Malcolm." The boy said. "Malcolm Grant.


	14. Superconductors

**Here is an early chapter. I have Latin convention until Saturday, so I will not have access to a computer for a while.** **I managed to find the alert that tells me when people are subscribing to my story, so now I now that at least eight people ****are reading the story. It really is nice when y'all review, so PLEASE ****do so. I don't even care if it is a hate letter, because it is nice to know what you think of the story. I have a long way to go before they**** even reach camp, so moral support is greatly apprecieated. **

**Hope you enjoy!**

**I do not own Percy Jackson or any of the characters present in those books.**

Superconductors

'Girls talk way to much'

'Why do girls relate on everything?'

'Are all girls as boring as my sisters? Because if they are I am never dating any ever again.'

Out of the many hundred thoughts that ran through Gabe's head, these three were the most prevalent.

He was sitting around the bed of the little runt with his two sisters. The runt was still asleep (lucky him Gabe thought) and his sisters were ignoring him and talking to each other. Gabe was playing on his iPod and was vaguely listening to Rose and Thalia. At the moment they were talking about proper bow care, or something close to that. The only thing they had been talking about for the last half hour was the hunters of Artemis, and it way boring Gabe to Hades. Finally he threw up his hands and huffed. "Can we please talk about something that the tree of us can all talk about? That _is_ why we are here and not out there battling monsters."

Rose glared at him and opened her mouth to tell him to stop being so insolent, but it was Thalia who saved him from a tongue lashing. "I think that Gabe is right. we should stop talking about the hunters and talk to each other instead.'

The twin's mouths both fell open in surprise. Neither of them had expected the lieutenant of Artemis to side with the boy. But Gabe pounced on the opportunity to talk to his new sister.

"Why do you not hate boys?" He blurted out as fast as he could. Thalia laughed.

"Unlike many of my sisters, I have been able to see the good side of many boys. So while I do think that they are good for nothing more than reproduction in principle, I have been able to see how helpful they can be to society."

Gabe stared at her sceptically. "Do you really think that we are good for nothing more than reproduction?"

Thalia held up a hand. "In principle. Women need men to do some things for them, but they are important in only one area. If we could self reproduce, women would be alone in the world without the hassles of men."

Rose practically squealed. "I thought it might have been just me! I am so glad that other girls think the same way about the male gender."

Gabe sighed. If this was how camp would be like, he wanted to crawl under a rock instead. Then he remembered that Thalia was the leader of a group of girls who hated boys. A thought popped into his head that could make camp much better. "Are there children of Aphrodite at camp?"

Thalia rolled her eyes in sync with Rose. "Yes, there are. they may look nice, BUT" she interjected when a dreamy look came across his face, "They are a bunch of mindless barbie dolls. You will never have a meaningful relationship with any of them. Look to the other cabins for the girls with brains."

Gabe was still thrilled by the prospect of eye candy at summer camp. He could not wait until swimming lessons. Especial if it was with Aphrodite cabin.

"I can tell you are like our sire." Thalia sighed. Then she got an idea. "I will give you a new weapon and twenty Drachmas if you don't date anyone the first month you are at camp. And if I get word that you have reached first base with anyone, I will hang you by you're boxers on the Big House."

Gabe knew that it would be increasingly hard, on the verge of impossible, but he could use a cool weapon. He did not have one currently, only Rose did. When it was their tenth birthday, their mom had given Rose a set of celestial bronze javelins. She just gave him a RC plane. He had enjoyed it for a while, but it was nothing compared to the lethal power of Rose's weapons.

Gabe stuck out his hand. "Deal. No girls for a month, not even kissing on the side." Both of his sisters looked baffled at his cooperation, but Thalia took his hand and shook it twice. With that over, the atmosphere was less hostile towards Gabe.

"So, how many girlfriends have you been with?" Thalia asked Gabe.

"Seven so far." He replied, already cringing from the verbal attack he was bound to get from his older sister.

But it was not as bad as he thought it would be. Thalia just tut-ed and shook her head in motherly disappointment. "Only seven? I suppose that is good for a child of Zeus, but I was expecting you to have dated at least five times that number."

A record number of jaw drops were witnessed that night. "What do you mean 'five times more'? That is like," Gabe paused to count in his head, "Forty! Forty girlfriends in two years! That is way to many women to be with at the age of twelve."

Rose looked grudgingly at her brother. "I guess you have not been that bad, compared to where you could have been." she said in slight admiration. No matter how separate they were, she still was proud of him.

"But you have nothing on either of our older cousins when it comes to failed quotas in the girlfriend department. Percy waited four years before he got together with his girlfriend, and Nico is still speechless in the presence of a girl his age or older. This generation is nothing compared to our fore bearers." Thalia said. "I heard from Artemis that there was once a boy who was in a relationship with every girl at camp over the age of fourteen in one summer. It was somewhat of a coincidence when he was killed by a group of maenads that he was trying to woo."

"What fearsome beast is a maenad?" Gabe said, slightly shuddering.

Rose laughed at his terrified expression. "They are women worshipers of Dionysus who go into crazed frenzied that often result in the disembowelment of anyone within a hundred yard radius." The look of pure horror on their brother's face sent both girls into laughing fits that lasted several minutes. After rose had regained her composure, she gasped out "Don't worry, dear terrified brother, they do not exist any more. You need not worry about female campers suddenly mauling you for no good reason."

Gabe wiped the invisible sweat off of his brow. "Good to know that. I can sleep a bit better knowing that they are not after me."

Thalia was still laughing to herself as she managed to gasp out "This is SO much more entertaining than my cousins."

They continued to sit and laugh to themselves when they heard a frantic knock on the door of the bus. Gabe leisurely got up and sauntered over to open the door. He was running back to get Thalia soon after as Percy, Max and Lucas stumbled in. Percy was supporting Lucas with Max's help. Lucas himself was almost passed out, his eyes rolling back into his head from the pain in his broken leg. Percy set him down on the floor and eased Max down into the chair Gabe had been occupying moments before. All three were covered in a layer of ash and grime, so much that they all looked as if they had been through a coal mine. Lucas's leg was splinted with ice and sticks, but was still bent at an unnatural angle. "What the HADES happened out there Percy!" Thalia whispered loudly.

Percy was about to answer when the door burst in and Mari, Nico and a mystery child stumbled in to collapse on the ground. Mari was untouched, and Nico had a few cuts on his body, but this was nothing compared to the child that they were supporting between them. He was about ten with beet red skin and black hair. But the skin was twisted and morphed from fire, which gave him a sinister look. Sweat beaded his brow, and his breaths were labored.

"We need to get going, now." Percy said as he hopped into the drivers seat and started the bus up.

Thalia rushed up to the front and glared at him. "What happened out there? Lucas looks like he broke his leg while it was going into the grave, and Max looks like he went through Hell as well."

"We encountered a giant creature and Lucas got trounced." Percy said through gritted teeth. Mari was near by and heard what Percy said. She whipped around and, seeing Lucas lying on the ground with his busted leg, rushed over to him.

"Max did not get hurt. He just is exhausted from trying to support Lucas while we were fighting and carrying Lucas back." Percy continued. He glanced back at Nico and the mystery boy on the ground and motioned to them with his head. "Can you find out who the new kid is for me?" He asked Thalia.

She nodded back and rushed to where her cousin was. Gabe went with her, curious about who the new kid was and why he look like he did.

Nico was tending to the burns on the boy when they rushed over to him. He glanced up and nodded a brief greeting, returning to his task immediately. "What happened Nico?" Thalia asked in a slight hush.

Nico sighed. "This boy, Malcolm, was being possessed by a spirit of a child of Hades. Malcolm himself is a child of Hades, and this created a serous situation. The spirits powers were magnified through Malcolm's own powers. The spirit was able to kill twelve people who where trying to remove him from the boy's body. Then it summoned a creature from the depths of Tartarus that has no name, a creature I have only heard rumors about. **(Ten points to the person who can tell me what the creature is.)** The spirit had trapped itself in the boy's body through a series of tattoos, so to release the spirit we had to brand the tattoos off. And that is what has happened."

Thalia looked grimly at the boy in front of her. "So we have another cousin, huh? AND, like all the others, he has some kind of injury. Just wonderful."

"I am taking us to the nearest hospital." Percy yelled from the front of the bus. "We need some kind of medical attention, and that is the best place to get it."

"But then we will have to stay for to long. Remember, we have a crazy hound after us that is making us sick slowly." Nico yelled back.

"We need to only stay as long as possible to get immediate treatment. Then we can sneak out and continue on our way." Percy hollered.

Thalia though about it. "Sounds like a good plan of action Perce. We _do_ need medical attention. Looks like it is off to the hospital."


	15. Interlude

**Here is a short chapter. I did not have any time this week to write, so here is what I have as of now. There will be more to come, so stay tuned. Also, thanks to all you who have made this story one of you're favorite storys or me you're favorite author. It means a lot.**

**I do not own Percy Jackson or any of the characters.**

Interlude

The bus skidded into the ER entrance of the hospital in Kentucky. The sun was peaking over the horizon, and the long night for the Ten Demigods was over.

The drive from the now destroyed town was a long one. The sickness that all of the half-bloods were suffering from had gotten worse that night. Nico had a developed chills, and was huddling in the back of the bus with a blanket. Max was running a very high temperature that kept Percy at his side all night long. Mari was coughing non-stop all night, and was complaining of her throat hurting. Luacs' rash had spread all the way up his face, and he complained about how much they hurt, along with his poorly straitened leg. Percy told no one, but he was beginning to feel a burning sensation in his lower back every once in a while. And there was still two slumbering children, both with serious wounds.

Percy burst into the front doors of the ER carrying Mel with Max stumbling after him, and yelled for a doctor. The children of Zeus came in supporting Lucas, and the children of Hades came soon after, carrying Malcolm between the both of them. A large group of doctors rushed forward and took the three damaged Demigods away from their relatives.

After a quick examination of the other seven children, It was decided that Nico, Mari, and Max all needed treatment for the battle wounds that they had received. They were led off to their own rooms, leaving Percy, Thalia, Gabe and Rose with a doctor who wore aviator sunglasses and smiled a lot.

"Do you know the children you brought in?" He asked, still smiling. Percy thought that he looked kind of familiar, but could not place from where.

"Yes. These are brothers and cousins. There was an accident at our house, and we needed to bring them in." Percy replied.

The doctor laughed. "Of course you needed to bring them in." Then more seriously he asked "Where are you're parents?"

Thalia answered this time. "They were out of town. That is why we had to bring them in."

The doctor wrote something down on his clipboard and smiled at them. "That was very good of you. Now, we will need you're parent's names so that we can call them in. Until then, you can wait in the lobby. We will let you know how they are doing in a little while."

The four demigods slouched over to the empty chairs of the ER and sat down. Then Percy shot up and ran over to the pre-pay phone that was hanging on the wall. He had forgotten that his mother would be the one who would be getting the call that they were at the hospital. He quickly rang up the fee and got a hold of his mom.

"Hello?" Percy's mom's voice rang across the void between them. Percy could feel better already after he heard his mom.

"Hey mom. It's you're darling boy." He said with a smile.

She gasped "Percy? Or is it one of my other darling children?"

Percy laughed openly. "No, it is defiantly me, Percy." They he became more nervous. He never liked to tell his mom that he was on a quest. "Hey mom?"

"Yes?"

"Dad sent me on a quest."

Silence on the other side of the line.

"Mom?" He asked.

"What?" She said, distracted. "Oh, sorry. I knew that you probably would go on a quest this summer, just like ever summer, but I never knew that it would be this soon." She took a breath and heaved a long sigh. Percy could visualize her running her hand through her hair. Then she spoke again. "Where are you now? And what was so important that you're father needed to send you this soon?"

"Apparently, I have half-siblings, along with Nico and Thalia. Our dads sent us to the other side of the country so that we could pick up our siblings and bring them to camp. We are in Kentucky right now." He replied.

Silence again, then "Well, I guess that I should have anticipated this sooner or latter. Who are they?"

Percy was a bit to stunned that his mom had anticipated this. He had thought that she might be a bit sad or something, but she sounded perfectly fine about it. Then he remembered that his mom had moved on a long time ago. "Well, the first one we found was a eight year old boy named Max. He was being beaten by his alcoholic mother, and she had bound him up and threw him into the sea when we came and rescued him."

Sally gasped when she heard about Max. "Is he alright?" She said worriedly.

"Yes. He was and is traumatized by the experience, but he is young and is now acting like a normal eight year old. He will need help, but at the moment I am able to take care of him."

Sally inhaled again in relief. "That is good. You said he was the first? Are there more?"

"Yep." Percy said. "Another boy, about ten named Menelaus. We found him in a sink hole after he had been chased by a monster. He lost his voice and has a broken arm."

"Why does trouble follow you every where you go?" His mom asked exasperated.

He shrugged, knowing that she could not see on the other end of the line. "I don't know. It just does. Anyways, we are at a hospital in Kentucky right now, and I gave you as our primary contact. You need to tell them that you live in Texas or something and that you are on a business trip at the moment. I plan to leave as soon as possible, so don't be alarmed if they call you telling you that we are missing."

There was a pause on the other line before Sally said "O.K. I love you. See you soon." And she hung up.


	16. Interlude II

**So, here I am again. This is a continuation of the last chapter.**** I have decided that I need more characters than what I have planed out now, so if you could send in some ideas that would be nice. the only rules are that any demigod must be younger than 13 and must live east of the Mississippi. They also must be the child of ****a god lower on the family tree than Cronos.** **No primordial gods or titans.** **I will accept My favorite three.** **if no one enters, then I will continue with the characters I have planed out. But this is a way to spice the story up your selves, so please enter. Till next time, enjoy.**

**I do not own Percy Jackson or any of the characters.**

Interlude II

Percy sat between the beds of Max and Mel in the hospital room. It was small, with two beds, a chair and a TV mounted on the wall. Mel was awake and watching Chopped on the food network. Max was sound asleep in the other bed.

Everyone had been able to be healed to the best of the abilities of the doctors. Malcolm was being treated for extensive burns. Lucas' leg had been set, as had Mel's. The doctors were doing cultures on the illness that many of them were suffering from. From what he heard though, Percy knew that Max and Nico both had bad cases of the flu. Mari had whooping cough, or something close to that, but Lucas was still up in the air.

Percy was resting his eyes in the chair when he heard the TV turn off. Barely opening his eyes, he glanced over to Mel to see him looking at him intently. Percy opened his eyes fully and asked, "Hey, whats up?"

Mel croaked out something, before coughing a bit and replying weakly "The gods are real, right?"

Percy nodded.

Mel hesitated then said, "If the Greek gods are real, are all the other gods real also?"

Percy was caught off guard by this question. He thought about it a bit before replying "I don't know. When we get to camp, we will have ask around."

But Mel was not done yet. "What about God? Is there a super god out there?"

Percy thought again, saying "Once again, I do not know. I think I remember my girlfriend saying that the Romans believed in a creator god who came at the beginning of time and created the universe. My second guess would be that Chaos would be the supreme god. Gaea came from him after all."

They sat in silence for a moment before Percy asked, "Where were you before we found you?"

Mel's expression hardened. "None of your business."

Percy was ready for that, and nonchalantly replied "Alright. I was not going to say anything, but to me it looked like you were running from something other than the hound. I can press harder, so just answer now and prevent to many complications."

Mel pouted for a bit, before grumbling out "I was running away from a foster home."

"And why were you running away from their?" Percy inquired.

Mel snorted. "I had had enough of that home. The kids there treated me like a freak, and I could not help it any more, so I ran away. Just like every other foster home I have been in."

Percy took it in silently. He had never realized that Mel was from a foster home. And from the sound of it he had been in a lot of them.

"Why were you in the foster system?" Percy asked.

Mel was silent, then "I was told that my mom died in an accident when I was two. I don't remember her. I had no relatives, so I was put in the system."

"How many homes have you been in?" Percy asked.

"Eleven now." Mel replied.

Percy's eyebrows raised. "Eleven? That's a lot of foster homes."

Mel nodded listlessly. "And I have hated every one with only one exception" Mel's gaze softened as he remembered his one good foster home.

"And which home would that be?" Percy asked. When Mel glared at him, he threw up his hands in surrender. "Hey, just asking. You do know that you will have to tell someone eventually, so why not make me the first to know?"

Mel though about this for a good two minutes. Then he decided to tell him. "The foster parent that I was with was an old man named Adam. He was the first foster parent who was able to give the full attention that I needed." Mel's eyebrows knit together in thought. "Now that I think about it, he must have know that I was a son of Poseidon. He told me once that I had a special power, and that I must keep it under control. He also taught me Greek and Roman mythology, as well as teaching me Latin."

Percy watched his younger brother intently as he talked. Percy noticed that Mel looked more care free as he talked about this Adam person. Then he though of something. "What was wrong with all the other foster homes?"

Mel glared at Percy again. Percy noticed that he did that a lot. "It was the kids." Mel replied frostily. "Every foster home I went to had at least one other child in it, and they always treated me like I was dirt, like I was less than them. they would constantly torment me about my past and my strange powers. And no matter how nice the parents were, how much they tried to make me feel accepted, I never did. It always came back to the other children, and how they hated me so much."

Mel crossed his arms and glared at Percy to challenge him. That was when Percy realized that was why Mel acted so stony. He was afraid that these new people would torment him like all the other kid had throughout his life. Under his rough and callous exterior, he was a scared, small child who feared the world. And this 'Adam' was the only one in his life who had treated him like a real child.

Percy sighed. "Mel, I know that you may have been treated bad before, but we will never treat you like those other kids did. We are a family, and no matter what we will stick together for better or for worse. Now get some rest. We will need to leave soon."

Mel continued to glare at him, but it was a fraction softer than before. then he turned over and went to sleep. Percy sighed again and leaned back into his chair. He had quite a job ahead of him, taking care of two boys who had never been a part of a real family. He fell asleep thinking about how his father had been right, they were haunted by thing much worse than monsters.

01123581321345589

Thalia sat between her two sibling reading Hunters Digest and trying to ignore the bickering of her siblings. Ever since Gabe had woken up and had complained about how messed up his back was from sleeping in a chair, he and his sister had been arguing about how insufferable he was and how stuck up she was. It was starting to get on Thalia's nerves. If this was how her siblings were going to act all the time, then she was dreading camp. That morning she had Iris messaged Artemis to tell her that she would be gone for longer in order to take care of her siblings and cousins. Artemis was sympathetic with Thalia, and had promised her that she would be welcomed back when the summer was over.

"You know," Thalia growled, silencing her sister and brother, "I would like to read in peace, if that is O.K. with you to."

The blissful silence lasted for ten minutes before a weary Nico strolled in and asked "Whats up? Why are you all so quiet?"

Both of the younger children of Zeus started to yell and bicker again like seagulls. Thalia threw down what she was reading and gave her best death glare to Nico who cringed under her gaze.

"What did I say?" Thalia yelled, making the other children silent immediately.

Gabe tentatively raised his hand like he was still in school. when Thalia did not respond, he said "That you would like to read in peace?"

Thalia nodded angrily, frustrated that her siblings were so loud but glad that they were starting to learn their lesson. "That is right. I know that all three of you are dyslexic, but for the moment you need to STAY QUIET!"

From that day on, Thalia would have complete and utter silence whenever she was reading.

An hour later, after Thalia had finished reading and the four demigods were talking quietly, a rested Percy emerged from the Poseidon suite, which is what his cousins had decided to call the room that all the children of Poseidon were in.

"How is everything out here?" He asked lazily.

"Oh nothing. We were just talking about the intricacy's of capture the flag. Care to join us?" Nico said.

A gleam came into Percy's eye. aside from Annabeth and water, capture the flag was his favorite thing in the world. "How could I resist?" He chuckled.

He sat down on one of the somewhat comfy hospital chairs and started to explain all of the strategies that he had thought up during the long winter away from camp. He was deep into the mechanics of defeating the children of Ares when the doctor that had greeted them at the entrance walked up. "Do you have a moment?" He asked Percy.

Percy nodded and got up from his chair. They moved away from the main group to talk about whatever the doctor wanted to talk about. "So, whats up doc?"

The Blond Doctor with the sunglasses gave Percy another brilliant smile. The smile alone reminded Percy of a person who he knew. 'But it could not be' Percy said to himself, shaking himself out of the world of Greek mythology. "All of you are cleared to leave." the doctor said, which made Percy suspicious. His brothers and cousins were in need of much more care than what had been given to them.

"What do you mean?" Percy asked.

The man just chuckled. "I think I was very clear Percy. You are cleared to leave. It is almost nightfall, and we do not allow animals in the hospital. So you need to leave before then. Don't worry, I packed all the medical supplies in your bus that you need to take care of your siblings. They should last until Wisconsin, where you will have to refill."

Percy blinked in surprise. How had this person known about the Hound of Sirius? And how well connected was this guy to fill the bus with medicine? "Who exactly are you?" Percy asked tentitivly.

The man pulled his sunglasses down a bit, revealing eyes as bright as the sun. "Just a family member who thought you needed help." He smiled again before walking away, leaving a baffled Percy.

Percy stood their a moment before turning around. " Hey guys, we need to leave soon. The hound will come soon, and we can't be here for it."

They all stood up. "Good thinking Percy." Thalia said. "I almost forgot about that dog."

They hurried to load everyone into the bus. When they first entered it, it was filled with every type of medication that they needed. Percy whistled. Apollo was very well connected. Then He plopped down in the drivers seat, and as soon as everyone was strapped in, they were off.


	17. Dreamline

**Here is my favorite chapter by far to date. Warning, there are many outside references in this chapter, so if you feel confused do not be worried. I will try and explain all of them in later chapters. The main reference is to 2001: A Space Odyssey.** **Like I said, I will explain later. Until then, have fun** **and stay cool. Peace.**

**I do not won Percy Jackson or any of the characters in the Percy Jackson Series.**

Dreamline

"'The thing's hollow-it goes on forever-and-oh my god-its full of stars'

In all the books I have ever read, and all the movies I have read, this was my favorite quote of all time. I always felt envy as David Bowman went through the Star gate to become a star child and explore the universe as a being of pure energy. It did not matter that he was actually the toy of the firstborn, he was free from this mortal coil. Besides the fact that he virtual died one thousand years latter in the Pico vault. The point was, he was free! Free to see the wonders of neutron stars and nebula by the hundreds, free to witness giant living clouds on Jupiter and plant creatures on Europa. This is how I have always wanted to fell, and these feelings are expressed best in my book report book, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Thank you."

I returned back to my spot in the back of class next to Andrew and Sam, my two best friends. Andrew had wheat blond hair and chestnut brown eyes. He was bulky for a thirteen year old from working on the farm since he was six. Sam had short black hair and eyes blue as ice. She was thin and lithe, unlike us Midwestern kids. She had grown up on the west coast, so she was more used to swimming than farm work. Although I was not one to talk when it came to hard work. My mom was an inventor, and I often helped her with her projects. I had long brown hair and brown eyes. Every one I knew said that I always looked like I was up to trouble, which was never true. All three of us had dyslexia and ADHD, which branded us as unteachable. That was not true either. We just had a hard time learning.

Andrew and I had grown up on adjacent farms ever since we were born. We even now lived in same house together, ever since my mom had sold her family farm to Andy's dad so that she could continue to invent farm machinery. That was when I was four. We had lived in Andrew's house to save on money between our families. When I was eight, our parents got married. It was more convenient for them to benefit from marriage than for them both to live in the same house with no connection. There is no real love between them, just a better than normal friendship. Their hearts were with Andrew's and I's biological parents.

Andy and I had always acted like siblings, so life went on as usual. Then, two years ago, Sam and her mom stumbled into our lives.

When you live in a small community, the slightest change in settings is immediately noticed.

One of the houses down the road had been empty for years when a mysterious new family moved in. It was rumored to be a single mom and her daughter. This arose immediate intrigue in our house, and not two days after we went over with a gift of fresh fruit. Adam's dad knocked on the door, and a girl my age peeked out of the door window. She eyed us warily, but opened the door. I had noticed that it sounded like she turned three locks before opening the door a smidgin.

"Yes?" she asked tentatively.

"We just wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood." My mom said, smiling. "We brought over these fruits as a housewarming gift."

The girl stepped out a bit more, showing her face fully. Her eyes were like cubes of ice, and her hair was cut down to a few inches. She was about my height, if not a bit taller and leaner. She took the basket with a mumbled thanks and hurried back inside.

We left and forgot about them until the first day if school.

There was only two hundred kids in our middle school. We all knew each other like the backs if our hands, and Sam was like a cut that was unfamiliar and out of place. She sat through the first day if class without saying anything more than her name and "here" while ignoring the puzzled stares of the countless other kids in the room. That after noon, as Andrew's dad was driving us home in his old pickup truck, we saw Sam walking home all by herself. We stopped and I leaned out the window. "Hey!" I had shouted. "Want a ride?"

Sam nodded gratefully, and after that car ride the three of us were inseparable.

"Nico report Jo." Sam snickered.

"Yea, you seceded to baffle our whole class and the teacher. This report is even better than The Lost World one." Andrew said smiling.

I glared at them. They both knew I loved to read science fiction, even with dyslexia, and they also loved to make fun of me because of it. My musings of HAL and The Sentinel fell upon unenlightened ears, or so my mom calls them.

"If you two don't stop talking, I won't have you over too watch a movie to celebrate the last day of school." I scolded.

Andrew put his hands on his cheeks in mock horror. "You will not have me over to my own house? How barbaric. I might have to sneak in through the worm hole I installed in my room."

I rolled my eyes in mock disgust. "How many times have I told you to drop the Stargate references?"

Sam clutched her sides laughing. "But I heard it was full stars though. I don't want to miss all those stars."

I sat there listening to them another ten seconds before leaning over to Sam and whispering to her, "If you do not stop, I will start talking about Will kissing you again." She stopped and turned a shade of pale close to white. I turned to Andrew next and whispered to him, "And you. I can tell your dad about the short joy-ride you took on the gator without permission." He paled also and closed his mouth tight. I turned back into my seat satisfied. I knew how to shut them up, because they knew I would follow through with my threats.

The bell rang, and we rushed out to the parking lot. Andrews dad was waiting for us in his rusty old pickup, and we scrambled into the back as soon as possible. We were planning to watch a movie at my house, and we were eager to watch.

When we arrived at the house, we raced to see who got to the door first. I won, like always, and flew inside with my friends hot on my tail.

I skidded onto my favorite place on the couch and plopped down with the remote in my hand. I turned on the player and Gene Kelley, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor flashed up on the screen wearing rain coats and dancing. I swore that I could hear Andrew sequel. "Singing in the rain! That is my favorite movie of all time." Sam just nodded.

I smiled at them. This was the one movie that all three of us could agree was good. Honestly, it was better than good. It was a work of art. I mean, who doesn't like Singing in the Rain?

We watched the movie all the way through, singing along with every song and sometimes dancing. We were just happy that school was over and we were going on to high school.

That night our parents threw a celebratory dinner in honor of us making it through the year. And with only two suspensions between the three of us.

My mom served up a salad that contained food from our own garden. Sam's mom made king crab legs. She was well known for her seafood. And Andrew's dad baked bread and made noodles. It was one of the best dinners that we have ever had.

After dinner we played tag outside in the wheat field. It was empty now, but in the fall it would be full of the grain.

I was it when a decked out bus pulled in to the driveway. I ignored it and continued to try and find my friends. The bus was probably just turning around. I was so caught up in the game that I did not notice the setting sun nor the bus that was now parked in our drive way.

I chased my friends to the woods that lined our land. It was the best place to ambush them and hide at the same time. The trees cast shadows in the light of the full moon. I stopped in a small clearing and glimpsed a body to my right. I dashed over to where it was and saw Sam running through the underbrush. I sprinted after her, vaulting over brush and logs. I was about to tag her when she skidded to a stop. I ran right into her and we both fell down.

"Hey! What was that for?" I grumbled.

Sam groaned. "Sorry. I thought I heard a wolf."

I stared at her like she was crazy. "A wolf? Maybe a coyote, but not a wolf. The nearest wolf is a hundred miles away. You must be hearing things."

Andrew stumbled into the patch of forest we were in panting. "Hey, did you guys hear the wolf?" He said breathlessly.

I shook my head. "You two are loopy. There was no wolf."

Sam got up and offered her hand to me. "You might not believe in wolfs, but I have heard some wack stories of things in this part of Wisconsin."

I snorted and took her hand, hauling myself up. "Bigfoot is not real either."

"Oh Skully, will you ever believe?" Andrew asked.

"Not until I get abducted." I shot back factually.

Sam started to walk back to the house. "Well, I am going back inside. If you want to stay out and be eaten, don't come crying to me."

Andrew gratefully followed her lead, leaving me. I was about to follow when I felt a prickle on the back of my neck. I turned around and saw a strange sight. In the moonlight, a point on the landscape seemed to ripple and contort like a piece of fabric. But it was gone as soon as it appeared, so I mentally shrugged and ran back to meet my friends.

None of are scardy cats or anything, but our fear level went up as we walked across the field. We walked faster and faster before we broke out into a run, afraid of the make believe wolf pack that was chasing us down. It was nonsense, but the idea of a wolf had grown in our minds and frightened us to be in the dark.

We rushed inside and Sam slammed the door closed. We stood there huffing and puffing when my mom startled us. The backdoor led into the kitchen, and she was bustling around getting something ready. "Oh, you are back." She said half-surprized. Then she turned back to her task and left with a tray of cookies.

Now, my mom never lets us have cookies, so the president must be here or something. All three of us exchanged a look, then started to push and shove to get to the cookies, the mind wolf forgotten. We rounded the corner to the strangest scene I have ever seen.

Our parents sat in front of the fireplace, coffee in hand. Arranged in a circle on the floor sat ten kids. The three oldest sat in chairs. One, a girl, glanced around the room, drinking in the living room. The oldest was a black haired boy who had been talking when we barged in. The other boy was deathly pale and was nibbling on a cookie. Two blond haired twins, a boy and a girl, sat next to the oldest girl. They were silently bickering. Two younger boys sat behind the oldest boy. One had copper hair and the other had his arm in a sling. They were talking among themselves also. Behind the pale boy were more pale children. Two of them, a boy and a girl, had black hair. The boy was wrapped head to toe in bandages. Another pale boy sat with them, but his hair was completely white. He had crutches that lay at his side. And when we entered the room they all stopped whatever they were doing and looked at us.

We stared back, dumbfounded at the number of other kids in the room without an addition of adults. Andrew was the first to talk about the elephant in the room. "Uhhhhh, What are all of these people doing in our house dad?" He asked softly.

The oldest kid, the black-haired one, rose. "We were about to explain that to your parents. How about you take a seat."

We grudgingly did so. Once we were sitting next to our parents with cookies in our hands, the boy started talking.

"We are here concerning your parents." He said, addressing the three of us. When we glanced at our parents, he shook his head. "Not the parent you have here, your other parent."

We sat in silence once again. I talked first this time. "What do you mean our 'other' parent?"

The boy shifted in his seat, clearly uncomfortable. "Well, you have only one parent now, right?" We all nodded. "So that must mean that at some point you had to have had another parent."

The older girl seated next to him rolled her eyes. "Of course they had other parents at one point."

The pale boy next to her snickered. "Yea Perce, do you think that they were born with just one parent."

The oldest boy glared at them before continuing. "As I was saying, other parent."

I thought about it. I had always wondered who my other parent was, but had never given it much thought. It was not that important to me as a whole, so I did not think to deeply about it. Who ever he was, he must have been one swell guy to have made my mom fall in love with him. She was the nicest and most strong willed person I have ever met.

We shook our heads, and the boy took a deep breath and then let it out. "Before I can completely explain who your parents are, do you know about Greek Mythology?"

My ears perked up while my friends both groaned. I loved stories, and the Greek myths were some of the best collection of fictional stories out there. My friends were board to hell by the thought of Greek mythology, but to me it was story telling gold.

I raised my hand like I was in school. "I know all about the Greek myths!" I said. "Like Perseus, Theseus who I loath with a passion, Kronos, Rhea, Hermes, Hera, Hades..." The list of names went on and on. My friends were already drooling in thier sleep, and every time I said a name the tree oldest kids winced. not that much, but enough to notice. I stopped my list of names. "Why are the Greek myths important about our parents?" I asked quizzically.

The older boy glanced at the other older kids, as if looking for support. They both nodded encouragingly, but other than that they stayed silent. "You see," He started, "The Greek gods, all of them, are real."

Silence

"WHAT?" All three of us shouted in disbelief at what he had just said. That just was not possible.

The older girl nodded. "Its true. The Greek gods are here in America, watching over us."

I was still to stunned by this revelation. I was shocked that this was true, but at the same time I was elated. The Greek gods and stories were real! My favorite tales were all true!

I turned to my mom. "Is this true mom?" I asked, excitement seeping through my rattled exterior.

She nodded, confirming my greatest dream.

I jumped up and whooped with delight. It took the other kid by surprise, but they soon got over it when I explained how much I loved the Greek myths.

"You better stop calling them myths, or else the gods won't like you that much." The pale boy said.

After another second of celebration, I sat down next to my friends who were taking in a more subdued way than me. But I could tell that they were just as happy as me. "So," I said somewhat out of breath, "Greek gods are real. That is good. now what does that have to do with our parents? Unless you are about to tell us that they are gods or something ridiculous."

My mom coughed from behind us. "Actually honey, you hit it on the head. Your other parent is a god. All three of you."

I took this much quieter than the first revelation. My dad was a god? That must explain how he made mom fall in love with him. Then I thought of something. "Who is my father?" I asked.

My mom smiled mysteriously. "I think that you would appreciate it best if you find out yourself."

"Same for you two." Andrew's dad said. "It is not quite our place to tell you."

"Well that sucks" Sam said, expressing what the three of us were feeling.

"Anyways, the reason we are here is to take you to a safe place." The oldest boy said. "You see," He explained, "The children of the gods have an aura about them that makes monsters want to come and disembowel them." At my look of horror he smiled slightly. "Don't worry, there is a safe place where you can stay and train to protect yourself in the mortal world. It is a camp in New York called Camp Half-Blood. That is where we are going now."

I shuffled in my seat. "So, what should we pack? I am ready to go."

page break!

After packing light and saying good bye to our parents, we walked out to the 'bus' with the vanguard of other god-children. That is where we met our first monster. Or should I say monsters.

We were almost out to the bus when a gigantic red wolf jumped out from the back of the bus. It's eyes rolled in its sockets and its mouth dripped foam. It growled at us.

"O.k." Percy said (We had learned their names before we left) we just go back to the house and wait until morning.

We turned around and were met with a similar sight. Two more wolves appeared from the brush. By this time we were to far away from the house to call fir help, but I doubt that it would have mattered. These three wolves had us cut off from both the house and the bus.

"O.k." Percy said again. He glanced nervously at the wolves, his mind working at a million miles per hour. Final some thing clicked. "We go to the field. They don't have that covered. We can circle back to the house from there."

Thalia nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Percy, you and I will distract them while the rest of you run. Don't wait for us, we can catch up with you. Ready?" We all nodded. "Good," she said, "GO!"

We dashed off towards the field. The wolves tried to get to the weaker prey, but were intercepted by Thalia and Percy. I did not catch what they were doing to keep the animals at bay, but I did not want to stay around and see.

We were halfway across the field when Thalia and Percy came running up to catch us, the wolves hot on their tails. It looked hopeless, until I saw it.

It was a wrinkling in the landscape, like a crumple piece of fabric. The trees and stars looked distorted in the wrinkle. But now behind the wrinkle was a thin gold line that streaked off into the horizon.

"Uh, guys?" I said breathlessly, "Do you see that? That wrinkle in the air?"

"What are you talking about?" Sam gasped back.

I pointed at the wrinkle, which was getting bigger by the second. "That! That wrin- Whoa!"

I stopped speaking. The wrinkle had expanded to become a hole of darkness on the landscape. By the gasps of the others they could see it to.

"What is it?" Andrew asked, awed.

"I have no idea, but I think it is for us to go through." I said. I glanced back at Percy, catching a glance of the wolves not far behind. He could see them to, and knew that there was no way to get back to the house now. Our only chance was the hole. He nodded.

We charged towards the hole, coming in at an angle, unaware of what lay withing until we were at it. Sam managed to gasp out "The thing's hollow-it goes on forever-and-oh my god-its full of stars!" before I felt myself being sucked in to the gate.

A gate opened. A gate closed. In an instant of time to short for the human mind to comprehend, time and space turned on itself, leaving the last words of a child to echo among the howls of wolves.


	18. To Grandmothers House we go

**So, here I am again, late on the update. Sorry about that, but I had a new idea for a story and could not write about this one. My excuse is bad, but it is all I have. From now on, I will try my best to update every Sunday, so until then, ciao!**

**I do not own Percy Jackson or any of the characters that appear in the Percy Jackson series.**

To Grandmothers house we go

A Gate opened. A Gate closed. In an instant of time to small to be measured by man, time and space contorted upon itself, leaving thirteen children in a field of amber grain.

I groaned and rubbed my acking head. It felt like an EMP had gone off in my brain and fried it. But in the back of my mind, I knew I had just experienced firsthand one of the holy-grails of astrophysics. A real live wormhole! The implications alone were staggering. The fact that it was possible to tunnel through space and time blew my mind. I don't remember much of the hole because I blacked out, but Sam's words still rang in my ears. It was full of stars. Stars all around, surrounding us as we flew through the hole to...where ever here was.

I sat up and looked at my surroundings. We all were laying on our sides and backs in the middle of a field. The weird thing was was that the field was full of wheat. It was not the time of year to be growing wheat, and this wheat was ready to be harvested.

The groans of those around me reverberated through my acking head. The rest of out group also looked like they were feeling fried by the experience. They were lying with limbs tangled together, a web of people. I had to mentally laugh at what I was seeing. Then I noticed a shadowy helmet on Lucas' head. It was a bikers helmet, with the visor pulled up. I don't remember him having a helmet before, but maybe he was just hiding it then. I could not worry about that right now.

I stood up and stretched, moving my sore limbs and rubbing my temples. I looked around and tried to asses where we were. In the distance I could see a farm house in a small clearing among the wheat, which spanned as far as the eye could see.

Some one groaned again and asked "Ugh, where are we?"

I turned back around and saw that it was Thalia who spoke. "I do not know where we are." I replied. I pointed to the farmhouse. "But I think that we could find help there."

After we all got up I turned to asked Lucas about the helmet. But when I did It was gone. I shook the feeling that it was bad and turned towards the house.

We walked down between the rows of wheat to the farm house. High above us the stars and moon glittered. As I gazed at the stars, I noticed that I could see many more than normal. Even when in the wilderness camping had I ever seen so many stars.

Before I knew it, we were on the porch of a the small two story farm house. The porch wrapped all the way around the front of the house, and next to the door were two gold life sized statues of lions laying down, eyes closed. They were peculiar, but nothing to worry about. Percy and Thalia both looked uncomfortable around them though. Probably a monster they fought, like the neamian lion. Wonder how they could have beaten it if they had.

A light lit the porch from within the living room. Percy looked at his two cousins, as if to confirm it, then rapped his hand on the door three times.

A shadow passed in front of the living room light and the door opened.

A old woman stood before us. She looked to be about fifty, one of those women who look young but have telltale signs of age. Her honey blond hair was streaked with grey, and smile lines were apparent around her eyes. When she opened up the door she was smiling broadly at the sight of us.

"Oh hello children! Looking for help?" She said with transparent glee.

Percy nodded slowly. Apparently, this was the first time he had been invited into a strangers house for the first time. Then a smell wafted out from the house. The smell of fresh apple pie. When the woman smelled it she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Many of us did so also, but the three oldest and the children of Zeus looked even more un at ease. When she opened her eyes again the woman smiled again. "Looks like the pie was ready just in time for you. I hope you like it fresh out of the oven."

I almost floated in on the smell like a cartoon when Percy stopped me. "First, may I ask your name?" He said tentatively.

The woman looked him up and down for a moment before nodding to her self in satisfaction. "You have learned from free hospitality before Percy." She said. I notticed that we had not mentioned our names yet, putting me on edge. But all my fears dissolved when she said, "No worries though, not here. I am no Medusa, and I am certainly not as bad as Crusty. No, I am your grandmother, Rhea. Now, come in, or else you all will catch a cold."

But none of us moved. I do not know why the others were not moving, but I was not moving because I was overwhelmed with joy. We were meeting Rhea! She was the titan of motherhood, and by far the nicest to the gods. Apparently the three oldest half-bloods did not know this. Thalia had her bow drawn, aimed at Rhea's chest. Percy and Nico both had elemental weapons raised in an instant. I had little time to admire the weapons before Percy spoke. "Our 'grandmother'? That means you are married to Kronos, and must also be evil."

Rhea snorted, a very un-grandmother like thing to do, and waved her hand. The weapons they were holding dissolved into nothingness. The three of them stared in shock at their hands, which had been grasping weapons moments before. "I do not allow sharp objects in my house. And I am not evil because I am a titan. I am just older than the gods, not against them. So stop acting foolish and come inside, or else I will have the boys chase you back to the wormhole I generously made and leave you to the mercy of those hounds."

Gabe frowned. "What boys?"

The lion statues lifted their heads and growled, proving they were not statues.

He paled. "I think I will go in."

The rest of us followed suit quickly and quietly.

The inside of the house was full of pictures. They lined the walls, filled the mantle and cluttered the tops of cupboards. When I looked closely, I saw that almost every picture were of children. Many of them had similar features, and I realized that these were pictures of other half bloods. She really was a grandmother. Above the mantle place was a giant family photo. Seven people stood in the frame, one of them being Rhea herself. I came to the conclusion that they must be the elder gods.

I tore my eyes away from the all encompassing pictures to look at the room itself. It was a small family room with barely enough room for the fourteen of us. A archway in the wall led to a kitchen where the pie was. The living room was encompassed by a giant sofa that lined the room. It could seat, like, twenty people or something. We all were standing around, wondering what to do, while Rhea was in the other room.

She came back in with a platter laden with pie, cookies, fruits, cheese, a selection of blue food, and other snack foods. When she saw all of us standing around, she clucked like a mother hen. "Now now, you can not have treats if you do not sit down. Anywhere is fine."

We all hurriedly sat down, eager for sweets. She placed the platter on the table and the thirteen of us tore at the food in a rush. She had apparently made something special for each of us, and we were all happy because of that. After many sweets and treats, we sat back and collectively loosened our belts.

I was content to fall asleep on the couch with a full belly, but my elders thought not. Percy sat forward and asked "So, you are Rhea?"

Rhea nodded.

He continued. "And you are also a titan?"

She nodded again. 'How stupid are you?' I thought, 'of course she is a titan!'

But Percy could not hear me. "And your not..." He trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished.

"Evil?" Rhea supplemented. Percy nodded.

Rhea sighed. "I often get that question. 'The other titans hate humans, so why do you not?' Have you actually read Greek mythology? Some of us titans were passive and even supportive of the gods. Thetis, Oceanus and I all cared for the gods. They are my children after all."

Percy still looked confused. "But Kronos was your husband. Why did you not side with him."

Thalia answered for Rhea. "Gods Percy," she said in disgust, "just because she was married to the jerk does NOT mean that she had to agree with him on everything. That is such a male way of thinking about marriage."

"Thank you Thalia." Rhea said, "I wish we had more young girls like you around." She turned back to Percy's question. "Kronos may have been my husband, but in no way did I agree with him about our children. He was the one among us titans who released us from our father. For that, we were all in his debt, just like all of my children are indebted to Zeus for freeing them from Kronos. When we were married, it seemed like a good idea, but I learned that he was a terrible father."

Andrew laughed. "That is and understatement."

Rhea chuckled a bit also. "Yes Andrew, quite. After he ate up Hades I was furious. I am the titan of childbirth and motherhood, so to have one of my children eaten in front of me was infuriating. Our views on the gods split after that, and we have never been close ever since."

"So, not with Kronos." Percy asked tentatively.

"For Olympus sakes Perseus, no!" Rhea said exasperated.

"Sorry." mumbled Percy, a embarrassed. "Its just that I have come to not trust titans, having had to fight them." He explained.

Rhea nodded. "Understandable. Also, good job on defending Olympus from my brothers. I was especially proud of you when you declined immortality. That was the right thing to do."

Percy mumbled his thanks humbly, but I was shocked. Sam blurted out what I was thinking before I could. "You turned down immortality!"

Nico smirked and answered for him. "Yea he turned it down, and all for a girl."

Percy sputtered to respond. "It was not just for a girl! There were other reasons to!"

Thalia snorted. "No, there were not, you just wanted to stay with Annabeth."

Percy continued to sputter until Rhea said, "Percy, ignore your cousins, their just jealous. As for Annabeth, she was a good reason to turn down immortality."

Percy calmed down and stopped trying to explain himself to us. "You really think she was worth it Rhea?" He asked.

She nodded. "Very worth it. And call me grandma, I like it better."

"Alright, grandma." He replied with a smile.

No one spoke for a minute so I brought up a question that I had. "Was that really a wormhole we went through grandma?" I asked.

She smiled. "Of course honey. It was the best way to get you here in a hurry."

"Another question," I said, "How is it possible?"

Rhea's eyes twinkled. "You will have to ask your siblings when you get to camp. They know all about wormholes."

That gave me food for thought. If my siblings knew what a wormhole even was, they must be the best and the brightest. Maybe Athena? I would like that.

I shook myself back to reality and yawned. I had not realized it before, but I was bone tired. Looking around, so was everyone else. Rhea must have noticed because she clapped he hands and stood up. "Alright sleepyheads," she addressed us, "Time for a good night sleep. You have a big day tomorrow, and you will need your rest for it. All your rooms are upstairs, and I will wake you up at ten. Now get moving!"

And with that she moved all of our drooping heads out of the living room and up the stairs. The second floor was one big hallway, with dozens of rooms lining the sides. I vaguely wondered why it looked bigger than the rest of the house, but concluded that it must be magic. I walked into a random room and was surprised to see that it was my room, or at least my ideal room.

Books lined the nonexistent walls. It was enchanted, or just painted very good, to look like a field of grass that stretched on forever. Above were all the constellations in the night sky, and they were all outlined like a picture book. The moon cast a soft glow around the room, completing the perfect night under the stars.

I gazed and marveled at the room fora minute, then crawled into the bed with midnight blue covers and started to fall asleep. In the distance I could hear the wind and the crickets. At some point before I fell asleep, Rhea came and tucked me in and gave me a kiss in the forehead. I smiled at the feeling and fell into a blissful sleep, one that I had a feeling I would not experience for a while.


	19. Breakfast With Brontes

**So, here I am again updating. I have decided that I will, in the upcoming week, change the contents of the last chapter. I found that I did not feel that great with the outcome, so I will be making some revisions. Also, I will start including a list of all the characters and their godly parents at the begging of each chapter, so as to prevent confusion among names and so it is easier to keep track of who is who. Any ways, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and that you can give me feed back about it. **

**Keep Bay Life y'all**

**I do not own Percy Jackson or any of the characters who are featured in the books by Rick Riordan**

**Children of Zeus: Gabe, Rosemary (Rose), Thalia**

**Children of Poseidon: Percy, Menelaus (Mel), Max**

**Children of Hades: Nico, Marigold (Mari), Malcolm**

**Children of Phosphorous: Lucas**

**Undetermined: Jo, Andrew, Sam**

Breakfast With Brontes

Andrew P.O.V.

I was dragged out of my dreams by the scent of pancakes and bacon wafting up the stairs into my bedroom.

I saw upright violently, flinging sheets off my body in the process. I was usually a deep sleeper, but when food entered the equation I slept extremely lightly. I was wondering where the smell was coming from, because neither my father nor Jo's mother made pancakes and bacon. Then the events from the previous night came flooding back into my head, and I realized that Rhea must be making breakfast.

I heard a bump from the hall and saw Sam look into the room, her hair all tousled. She was still tangled in her bed sheets, witch were a surfing motif. "Do you smell that?" She asked.

I nodded as I pulled on my clothes. I had looked in the wicker dresser that adorned one side of my room the night before to see that it had all of my clothes in it from my house. I guess grandmas were always prepared.

When I was finished dressing I went down the gigantic hallway and stairs with Sam hot on my heals. We both slid down the banister in childish fashion and rushed into the kitchen.

There were already six other people sitting around a gigantic mahogany table that could fit an army. Nico was talking adamantly with Jo about Mythomagic, Gabe and Rose were arguing about whether long range weapons were better than close range, and Mel and Max were what looked like having a pancake eating contest. All in all, an average morning around the family table.

Each person had a plate that towered with pancakes and surrounded by hash browns, grits, sausage links, and ham. Syrup was heaped equally over every plate, smothering the contents. In the middle of the table were enough plates and silverware for everyone, as well as a platter that looked to be the size of a shield was covered with every type of breakfast food imaginable.

Sam and I rushed to each get a plate and engulf our plates with a variety of fruits, pancakes, meats, and starches. We sat in between Jo and Mel and entered the eating contest with gusto.

As the contest went on, with multiple trips between the four of us to get more food, more people sat down around us until the table was encompassed by everyone present.

Lucas, Percy, and Mari joined our eating contest, each with gusto. In the end, no one won. It just dissolved into eating with no coordination. Thalia entered the frey between Gabe and Rose and quelled last one down was Malcolm, whose scars from his mysterious ordeal in Texas glinted in the morning light. He grimaced a bit as he sat next to Nico, but Rhea appeared and gave him a glass of golden liquid. He whispered something to him, and he reluctantly sipped from the glass. After the first liquid had passed his lips, he moved it back in surprise. He looked at Rhea, still shocked, and she encouraged him to drink more. He gladly did, and it was gone almost immediately. He settled back into his seat in contentment, his scars a bit less prominent.

All throughout the meal, Rhea sat at the front of the table and asked occasional questions to her grand children. One time she asked Percy how some one named 'Annabeth' was, and his face lit up. He started to chatter how well she was doing and many other things of no real importance. I tuned out after a while, focusing on my food, until Rhea asked me how the last harvest had gone.

I loved to talk about agriculture, so I told her about how the last season had gone. My dad for my birthday had given me a scythe and my own plot of land, telling me that in his family it was a tradition for the men in the family to start farming their own land at a young age, and that I should learn how to without modern day technology. At first it was hard work, plowing the ground with the mule and picking out weeds every day by hand, but I gained valuable insight on what it was like to actually farm.

Even after Rhea moved on to another person, I kept on thinking about my first harvest by myself. At first, it had been hard to do with the scythe, but I had gotten the hang of it after a while. My father had been so proud of my work that he gave me a vegetable garden and a milking cow of my own. It will be a big step up for me, and it means that my father was confident enough in my ability to give me more responsibility, just like HIS father had done for him.

The story of our heritage was one that I knew very well. My family has been tilling soil for as long as the records go back. It has been a custom for each generation, male and female, to be given a cow, a scythe crafted by their father, and the seeds of crops that have been in the family for generations, then have the person sent out to live on their own. When I became eighteen, I would be given my birthright and sent off to get make my own living. I was counting the days.

Unlike most people in the country today, I loved to toil out in the blistering sun. I felt like I was putting what ever talents I had to use. And that is why last night, before I fell asleep, I made a silent promise to my dad and myself that I would try harder and come back stronger than ever, both psychically and mentally.

I was jolted out of my own thoughts by a commotion of boots and grunts at the front door as it was opened, followed by a voice booming from down the hall, "Sister, something smells GOOD!"

All conversation as Rhea shouted out to the mysterious voice "We are in here Brontes. How about you guys come in and introduce yourselves."

When they did walk in I almost fell out of my seat in shock.

Out of the living room came tree of the biggest men I have ever seen. Each was seven and a half feet tall, so tall they stooped to fit in the room. Each wore rugged overalls with the names spelled out on the breast pocket. But by far the most notable feature of the three men were the single eye in the middle of their face.

Rhea stood up and gave each one a hug like they were siblings, even though they looked nothing like each other. I mean they dwarfed her! One half of my mid was thinking just that, but another part had recognized that one of them had called her sister. I decided to wait and see what they would say.

One half of my brain pumped a fist in triumph when she turned to us and said "Meet my brothers, Brontes, Steropes, and Arges. They come every Saturday for have breakfast with me."

Jo gasped. I looked over at her and saw a mixture of awe and excitement on her face. "Your the Cyclopes!" She said in the admiration.

Sam let out snort. "Of course they are cyclopes, look at that single eye."

At any other time, Jo would have retorted with sarcasm, but she was to excited to do so. "No no, these are THE cyclopes, the first and original three, the children of Gaia and Uranus. They made the bows of Artemis and Apollo, the Trident of Poseidon, the Helm of Darkness, and Zeus' Master Bolt! They are the greatest craftsmen in all of the cosmos, except for possibly Hephaestus. They are awesome!" And on that last breath she collapsed back into her chair, breathing heavily.

The three cyclopes looked at each other in surprise. I don't think that they get that kind of introduction very often. One of them, Arges said his name tag, looked at her and rumbled "Well that was quite the introduction. I never knew that we had a secret admirer" he chuckled.

Rhea spoke up at this point. "Well, I was about to say that myself, but I think that Jo summed my brothers quite nicely. They are the first three cyclopes, and in fact my brothers. I hope that you enjoy their company."

The three brothers sat down in chairs at the other end of the table that were just their size. Immediately they were beset with questions by the rest of us while they calmly piled their plates with food. Eventually Rhea restored calm and let one person talk at a time. The first one to ask a question was Percy, who asked "It was explained to me that all the cyclopses were children of Poseidon. Why are you not?"

Steropes answered this time. "That may be true for all the other cyclopses, but I can assure you that we are the children of Uranus and Gaia. You could say that we are the exception to the rule."

Jo asked the next question. "Can I have your autograph?" This was greeted with laughs around the table and a book being produced by Brontes.

"Here is a first addition of our best selling book, 'Inside the Forges of The Ancients; A Comprehensive Guide to Smithing'. Inside it has all of our signatures and a note for you." When he gave it to her she looked like she was about to faint like some fangirl.

Nico was up next. "Can you make me a cool new sword?" He pleaded, earning another round of laughs.

Brontes' eye twinkled and he ate. "We will see what we can do." He answered cryptically.

Rose was about to ask a question, but was beaten by her brother. "What was the coolest weapon you have ever made?" He asked while his sister fumed.

Arges answered between mouthfuls of sausage. "In my opinion, it was the Helm of Darkness. That thing is scary."

Brontes was the next to answer. "My favorite was the Trident of Poseidon. That weapon can create the biggest earthquakes ever."

It was finally Steropes turn. "You are both wrong," he chuckled, "It was the master bolt, by far the most powerful of all the weapons we have made. Now THAT is a cool weapon."

The others grunted in half-agreement, but I had the feeling that they each thought that the weapon they chose was the best. I just laughed about it in my head, thinking of three immortal monsters arguing like children about a toy.

Rose finally got her turn after her brothers interruption. "What do you do now?"

The brothers actually stopped eating to think about this question. "Well," Arges said, "We make lightning bolts for Zeus from Monday to Wednesday, study more of our craft on thursday, experiment on friday, and take the weekend off. That about sums up our week."

But I had heard something that had struck a cord in my mind. "You study your craft more? I thought you guys were immortal AND the best at what you do. Why would you need to study?"

Steropes barked a laughed between his breakfast. "You young people and studying. You would think that it is a pandemic or something." He focused his gaze on me. "We may be the best at what we do overall, but every once in a while someone else comes up with a better technique for something than we do, and it is important to stay with the times."

All in all I think that was a good reason to study. After all, I do study sometimes about crops.

The rest of breakfast went by with them eating un-godly amounts of food, The answering of various questions, and overall merriment. So when the cyclopes pushed their chairs back and got up from the table, I felt bad that they had to go. There was the exchange of handshakes and promises to visit, and with a final wave good bye, they were out the door.

We all sat back down at the table and settled back in our chairs. Thalia voiced what we were all thinking. "So, any other surprises for today grandma?"

Rhea just smiled and shook her head. "Nope, nothing on the agenda. We can do anything you want, as long as it is on the farm. other than that, you have the day to yourselves."

I looked around at the others and saw a grin transfer between Percy and Nico that gave me chills. So when Percy raised his hand, I was a bit surprised by the three words that issued from his mouth.

"Capture the flag."


	20. The Other Shoe

**Sorry for being so late. I have been in Italy for a week, and after I just did not know how I should write this chapter. It was only recently that I was able to finally figure it out, and with it I gave myself a challenge. To write a whole chapter with no dialogue. By the looks of it, I succeeded. I hope that this spark of a chapter will be enjoyable, and I promise that in the next chapter that they will finally get to the camp. No more sidetracking. That is a promise. Now read! Before You lose interest!  
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**I do not own any of the characters of the Percy Jackson series  
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**Our Players:**

Percy: Poseidon

Thalia: Zeus

Nico: Hades

Mari: Hades

Lucas: Phosphorous

Gabe: Zeus

Rose: Zeus

Malcolm: Hades

Max: Poseidon

Mel: Poseidon

Jo: Unknown

Andrew: Unknown

Sam: Unknown

The Other Shoe

After breakfast, the demigods assembled in one of the wheat fields to play capture the flag. They decided to play regular rules, not camp rules, so there was no real danger of injury. Rhea had sequestered a piece of the field off so that they could play with cover. There was a ten foot gap around the borders, and a fifteen foot no-mans land in the middle dividing the sides. Rhea also gave them two old shirts, one red and one blue, for them to use as flags. The flags had to be in plain sight, and no one guarding the flags could be withing ten feet of the flags. With these ground rules established, Percy and Thalia chose to be captains and started to pick teams.

Percy stared. He made a big show of looking everyone over before picking Nico.

Thalia went next. With no hesitation, she choose Rose, who grinned and ran over next to her sister.

Percy glanced at the line, but he already had the next person in mind. He pointed to Gabe, who smiled devilishly at his sister and walked over to be with his cousins.

Thalia was going for an all girls team, and next choose Mari. Percy followed up by choosing Lucas. The two of them looked downcast about being on opposite teams, but exuberant at the same time.

Thalia then choose Jo, who glanced at her friends nervously before moving over to the older girl. She then groaned when Percy picked Andrew, but squealed with delight when Sam was picked to be on her team.

There was only three people left, and Percy had to think hard about the next choice. If he picked Max, then he could protect him, but he also wanted to keep an eye on Mel. At the same time, Malcolm was an interesting choice, because Percy did not know much about him and wanted to know what he could do. After much deliberation with his team, he decided on Mel, who had proven unpredictable in the past.

Thalia had no problem in choosing the next person, and picked up Max as her last team mate, leaving Malcolm to be on Percy's team.

Percy ceded the choice of side off the Thalia, as well as the choice in flag, and she mockingly accepted. After deliberating with her team, she choose the left side of the field, and the blue shirt, leaving Percy's team with the right side and the red flag.

Once all the positions had been assigned by the captains, the teams lined up on the no-mans land and stared each other down, before Both captains shouted "Go!", and the teams were off.

On the red team, Gabe, Lucas and Andrew raced off into the enemy territory. Mari, Jo, and Sam raced back into the cover of the wheat to capture them while they were stuck in the expanse of their territory. Thalia and Rose, after a minute of waiting, raced into the opposite territory. Percy and Nico had decided to stay back near the flag, so that they could catch the girls when they came.

At first, all was silent, then the screams of surprise, joy, and excitement rang out from the cover of the wheat.

Mari had managed to capture Andrew while he was trying to sneak near the flag, but Gabe had slipped out of her grasp, only to be caught by Jo. Sam attempted to catch Lucas, but it was like he possessed x-ray vision, because all she could hear was the sound of his retreat.

On the other side, Thalia and Rose were carefully sneaking through the grain, ears alert for any sign of the boys. When they heard the sound of footsteps behind them, they moved forward silently, planing on moving around them instead of running directly towards them.

Their steps grew faster as the sound behind them grew faster and started to run instead of walk. So when they chanced a glance backwards, they ran strait into Mel, who had been waiting for them the whole time. Both girls gasped when they felt him tag them on the arm, and both of them groaned when Malcolm emerged from the grain smiling and with Mel led them both away to the jail.

At this point, four people, two from each team, had been captured. Four down, nine to go.

Lucas returned to his flag, where Percy and Nico were waiting for his report. He told them of the girls who had stayed behind, and how his two comrades were both captured. The older boys congratulated him, then assigned him to retrieve his friends from the enemy prison. He nodded, then moved off back to the other side. At the same time, Mel and Malcolm were "watching" over their prisoners, when Max sneaked up from behind and freed the girls from the prison. They nodded their thanks to him, then melted into the wheat with them. What the boy's team had not counted on was how silent Max had become over the years, and how good he was now at rescuing the girls from jail.

At the no-mans land, Lucas tip-toed across. Once in the safety of the wheat, he move much quicker, confidant in his abilities to stay silent. He was deep into the enemy territory when he spotted the flag in a patch of trampled grass. He stopped. It was almost too easy.

Almost.

He decided to look for his team mates and come back with them in force instead of going by himself. With that, he turned around and headed towards the enemy jail. When he got there, he noticed that it was also unguarded. Looking around to make sure that the girls were no where to be found, he moved over to where Gabe and Andrew were sitting and tapped them on the arm. They turned, startled, but when they saw him they broke out into grins and patted him on the back. Lucas winced, because he could feel spots of pain where they had patted, but shook it off. It was nothing. With that they moved off into the grain, unknowingly tripping a wire set up by Thalia.

At the no-mans land, the three girls noticed that the trip line had been set off, and got into positions. Knowing that they boys would probably go strait to the boundary, they set up directly across from the jail, waiting for their prey. So they were surprised when they burst out of the wheat not more than twenty feet away, safe in the barren zone in between them.

By this time Thalia and Rose had located the flag, and moved back to their side to deliberate. Percy and Nico were both guarding the flag, so it would be hard to get the flag out right. But they had a plan. they may be a team composed almost all of girls, but it was the almost that was the most important part.

In the boy's territory, they had reconvened and were deliberating over how to get the flag and the problem posed by the missing girls. Both of the guards were convinced that they had their eyes on the two girls the whole time, but that did not change the fact that they were gone. There must have been an infiltrator among their ranks, or something along those lines. Anyways, that did not matter. They knew where the flag was, it was just a matter of getting it. They decided that they would switch it up and sen Lucas, Nico and Percy to get the flag, with Mel and Malcolm hiding along the edge of the girls' territory just in case. Gabe and Andrew would guard the flag, one on each side, back to back, so that no one would slip through. They all nodded, giddy with excitement, and left on their duties.

The girls were engaging in a similar exchange. They had decided that it would be hard to just take the flag with both Percy and Nico guarding it, so they would rely on stealth and distractions to get to it. They decided that Mari would be the bait, because she had recently developed a bad cough, and that would be the perfect distraction. She would go as far as she could, then let it all out while the other girls would fan out and go around her and the possible guards investigating. They were counting on Mel and Malcolm to be guards still, and they were to inexperience to do other wise. Percy and Nico were a different matter. They would not fall for those tricks, so the girls were going to use other tricks instead. They were going to surround confront them on one side, then have Max come in from the back and take the flag. Jo was going to stay back, because she was by far the fastest of all of them and could catch any of the boys going after the flag. Serious, they left to do their tasks.

The boys started a bit before the girls, and they managed to get across the line at the far ends, as to avoid any guards. As they were dispersing into the grain, the girls emerged from their side, looking around warily, and dashed over to the other side with Max in tow. Seeing no guards, they rushed to the flag, with a somewhat struggling Mari lagging behind. When they got about a third of the way there, she burst out into deep, throaty coughs that echoed around the surrounding hillsides. As she stood doubled over from the coughs, the other girls gave her sympathetic looks and scurried off. Max hung back to try and console her, but she pushed him away, aware of his importance. Reluctantly, he ran off, leaving Mari to gasp and cough.

The boys on the other side heard the out burst, and paused to make sure that it was not on this side. When they were confidant that it was not, they continued on their quest. True to the plan, Mel and Malcolm were hanging back just in case, but so far there was no need for them. The plan was going stupendously. When they reached the clearing were the flag was, they saw that it was empty. Having expected that, they spread out in a circle, ready to all grab it in case the occasion arose. When they were all in position, they all raced to the flag, and all of them tripped wires hidden under the wheat. In an instant, Jo was upon them, tagging first Nico, then Percy, but just barley missing Lucas as he sped away with the flag with Jo now in hot pursuit.

On the other side, both Gabe and Andrew had heard the tormented coughs in their territory, and were wondering what was up. Chalking it up to a single person, Gabe decided to go off quickly and catch the person. He sped off, leaving a wary Andrew glancing around the wheat towering over him. When Gabe reached Mari, he saw her kneeling on the ground, coughing with her hand held to her mouth. He sauntered over, ready to capture her, when she coughed again and blood dripped out between her fingers. His eyes widened. He rushed over to her, yelling at the top of his lungs for Andrew to come urgently. Upon hearing the summons, Andrew rushed away from his post without hesitation, leaving Max to quickly grab the flag and run towards the end of the game.

Meanwhile...

Jo chased Lucas through the grain, slowly gaining on the exhausted boy. When he stumbled, she grinned a feral smile and leaped at him, tackling him with the full force of her body. They landed on the ground, her arms intertwined around him, him crying out in pain. The smile slipped off of Jo's face as she got up and saw spots of blood soaking his shirt. Her eyes widening, she removed his shirt to find a large cluster of red scabbed blisters on his back, many burst from the impact. Gingerly she turned him over to find more on his chest, torso, and neck, some of them bleeding. When he saw the blood he turned with a groan on his side and relieved himself of breakfast. Jo stared for a few more seconds wide eyed before ripping off her shirt and, using both her shirt and Lucas', started to stanch the wounds while yelling for help.

It was Percy and Nico who came running. When they saw Lucas bleeding on the ground with a pool of vomit next to him they skidded to a stop, then is shaky voices asked what had happened. Jo just yelled at them for their shirts, as the ones she was using now were soaked with blood. They quickly removed their shirts and helped her apply pressure to the blisters that had burst. Jo got up, whipping the sweat from her forehead, and told them that she was going to get help. They nodded and she streaked off to the other side.

On the other side, Max was streaking through the wheat, elated that he had been able to take the flag while they were distracted. He burst through the grain into the no-mans land and gave a whoop of victory. When all he heard was silence, he looked around confused and dazed. He thought that the girls had followed him. He was thinking about this and the mounting pressure on his head when he blacked out, right as Jo came out of the opposite territory. She skidded to a stop when she saw the little boy crumple to the ground. Her heart beating even faster than she thought possible, she rushed over to him as Mel and Malcolm came out of the wheat to investigate the whoop. When she was them, she yelled at them to watch him wile she got help. When they saw the boy laying on the ground, his eyes lolling back into his head, they rushed over while Jo sprinted away.

Mari's coughing had grown faint, and she was about to pass out from the pain in her chest and the blood spurting out from her fingers. All Andrew and Gabe could do was to console her as Thalia, Sam and Rose rushed over to the house to get Rhea. They had no first aid experience, and did not know what to do for blood coming out of a persons mouth. Andrew rubbed her back soothingly while Gabe spoke kind and frantic words to her. Neither of them knew what to do, except to comfort her as best as they could.

After a few minutes, The two boys were relieved to find Rhea come rushing towards them with a canteen dangling from her hand. She knelt over next to Mari and coaxed her to remove her hand from her mouth. Mari's eyes were drooping, but she slowly nodded and removed her hand, then swiftly replacing it as her body was racked with coughs. Rhea waited patiently, and when the coughs stopped she quickly removed Mari's hand and placed the canteen to her blood stained lips. Mari's eyes widened as a foreign liquid traveled down her throat, then relaxed at the sensation of relief that spread through her lungs. She soon slipped into a quiet repose, asleep from the toll the coughs had taken on her body.

The two boys and three girls breathed a sigh of relief, but it was to be short lived as Jo burst through the grain and stopped, panting. Once she had regained her breath, she told Rhea of both Lucas and Max. The demigods looked at each other in alarm as Rhea got up and asked Jo to take her to them. She also told the two boys to stay with Mari and for the girls to come with her. The children nodded and the contingent of women rushed of, leaving a knocked out Mari and two dumbfounded boys.

They first got to Max, who was still being watched over by his brother and Malcolm. Rhea did a quick look over of Max, then pronounced him exhausted. She told the boys to stay with him and to take Max to the house. She also told them that if they saw Gabe and Andrew to tell them to go with them to the house, and to bring Mari also. They nodded, and lifting Max between them, they set off. The others then rushed off through the boys side.

When they got to Percy, Nico and Lucas, they found that they had managed to staunch most of the blood, and that Nico had also lost his breakfast off to the side and was off to the side, laying on his back staring at the sky with a pained expression clutching his side. Rhea looked at him with concern, but first turned to Lucas, who was silently sobbing from the pain. She cooed sympathetically to him while instructing Percy to remove the various blood-soaked shirts. He did so, and she quickly pored nectar over the blisters. Lucas' sobs reduced, and changed into a sigh of contentment as he slipped out of conciseness. She then moved over to Nico and gave him the rest, relieving the pain that was coming from his lower abdomen.

Rhea instructed the demigods who were still functioning to take Lucas and Nico to the house, which they did without question. As they left, Percy was thinking to himself that this was by far the worst game of capture the flag he had ever played.


	21. One If By Land

**I do not own any of the characters in the Percy Jackson series.**

One If By Land

The three oldest demigods, Percy, Thalia and Nico, decided to have a meeting in the dinning room while Rhea tended to the sick upstairs. Everyone had been shaken by this sudden jolt of reality. They had been normal kids on an uneventful journey for to long, and they were paying the price for it. Some had been shell-shocked by the incident, while others were quietly receptive that this was a sign.

So it was with weary-full sighs that the eldest demigods sat down at the great mahogany table and started to discuss their plans to return.

"So, how should we get back?" Nico said.

They sat in silence for a minute quietly brainstorming before Percy said "by boat," while the other two said "by car."

All three grimaced at the opposing idea.

"Why in the world would we go by boat?" Thalia said.

"Because," Percy huffed, "its the only safe way to get to camp without those dogs getting at us."

"And how do you know this?" Nico asked with skepticism.

"Because they have yet to form over water. Plus, my power can guard us all while we are on the water. And I would like to start teaching Max and Mel things about our heritage before we get to camp." He explained, like it was perfectly obvious to everyone.

"Well, you are forgetting something big." Thalia interjected, with a hint of worry on her face.

"And what would that be?" Percy asked mockingly.

"Neither of us," Thalia said, pointing to her and Nico, "Can swim."

Percy looked between them, dumbfounded, before breaking into a grin. "You two can't swim?" He said, shaking with silent laughter. "Thats ridiculous. Everyone knows how to swim."

They both shook their heads grimly. "Being the children of the other two Big Three means that we have tried to avoid the water as much as possible."

Percy continued to laugh silently. Thalia scowled as she said "Perseus Jackson, if you do not stop laughing, I will slip some of the most disgusting things into your food, and you will spend the rest of the week hunched over the toilet, suffering."

Percy stopped laughing.

Nico said "I can understand and respect your reasons to go by boat, but we need to travel by land. Its the only safe way for everyone on the trip."

"Fish boy does have a point though." Thalia interjected. "We are not vulnerable on the water, or at least not as much."

"Hey!" Percy said, but Nico waved off.

"Right, water IS the only place where we are totally safe. But that does not mean we can cross it still. You even know where we are? We're in the center if the country. The only way by water is through the Great Lakes, and there are these big locks for giant ships. We do not have a giant ship. Sooooo, water is firmly out of the option."

They lapsed back into silence, thinking about a safe, fast way to get to camp.

Then Nico jumped up, yelling "I've got it!" before turning a shade of green and returning to his seat, holding his abdomen and grimacing.

His two cousins looked at him in bewilderment, not sure if they should be concerned or excited. "You have what?" Percy asked.

Nico held up a finger and took a few deep breaths. After whatever was hurting subsided, he said "Why don't we take the train?"

His cousins decided to look at him in shock instead.

"A train?" Thalia said quizzically, "Why in the world would we take a train?"

"I was wondering the same thing." Percy said. "I was also wondering," he continued, "why you just clutched at your stomach."

"Well, to answer your questions," Nico replied, "IF we took a train, it would allow us to travel in relative safety from the wolfs. Also, we could easily rest on a train, thanks to my credit card, and no one would have to drive. We could get to New York in..." he paused to think, "a day or two, if we left now. To answer your other question, my stomach hurts so deal with it."

"Nice plan, but more importantly, when did you tummy start to howt?" Thalia asked in her best mommy voice, leading to laughter from Percy.

Nico glared at them. "A few days ago. Its not like im coming down with tree fever, pine cone-face."

Thalia brushed aside the insult. "Anyway," she continued as if Nico had not made the comment, "I do think that the train idea is a good one."

"I second branchy." Percy added.

"Then its all settled,"Nico said as his cousins started a nickname war, "We go by train!"


	22. Three if by Train

Our Players

Percy Jackson: Son of Poseidon

Thalia Grace: Daughter of Zeus

Nico di Angelo: Son of Hades

Max: Son of Poseidon

Lucas: Son of Phosphorus

Marigold (Mari): Daughter of Hades

Rosemary (Rose): Daughter of Zeus, sister of Gabe

Gabe: Son of Zeus, brother of Rosemary

Menelaus (Mel): Son of Poseidon

Malcolm: Son of Hades

Sam: Undetermined

Jo: Undetermined

Andrew: Undetermined

Three If By Train.

The eldest demigods went back upstairs to see how the recovering demigods were doing. Mari's coughing had gone down, but she could not talk from the damage to her larynx. While the three had been talking, Lucas had developed boil-like circles around his eyes making it so that he had to squint to see. Max was fine for now, but he still had a fever.

When the rest of the demi-god crew heard about the train idea, they were ecstatic. "I've never been on a train before!" exclaimed Max, who was bouncing up and down like he needed to go to the bathroom.

"Well it is not all that exciting, believe me." Percy said. "Besides, this is not a pleasure cruse. We are on the run from the creatures, so while we are on the train there must be at least three people awake at a time. This will minimize a surprise attack."

"Also, the train will not take us all the way to camp, so there will be a time when we need to take a car or a bus the rest of the way." Thalia continued. "When we do this, there will be no sleeping or resting. All of you need to keep your eyes open for any sign of danger."

Nico finished with, "Now gather any belongings you have, we are leaving right now. Rhea has informed us that the train leaves at one in the afternoon, and its about eleven now. We will try and stop on the way to get some food, but don't expect anything dramatic."

The younger children franticly rushed to do as their elders told them to, nearly tripping over themselves in the rush up the stairs to get to their rooms. While they packed, the elder children said their thanks to their grandmother.

"Thanks again Grandma Rhea." Percy said.

"Yea, thanks a bunch." Nico said casually, earning a slap upside the head by Thalia.

"Thank you very much. Without your hospitality, we may have been eaten last night." Thalia said.

Rhea responded by giving all three of them a big group hug. "Think nothing of it." She said with a big smile. "And make sure that you come back often. I do enjoy having my grandchildren over every once in a while."

They promised to do so, and then they rushed off to get their things.

The children managed to gather their things rather fast with the prospect of riding a train imminent. They each said good-bye to their grandmother, and then they piled into the bus she had provided for them and left, leaving Rhea alone on the porch of her house.

(1123581321)

The train station was not what they had thought it would be.

The tiny building cowered next to the track, and the feed mill and gravel driveway did not help the décor. The feed mill smelled funky, or so Max said, and all of their teeth clattered as the bus drove across the gravel.

When they got inside the building, they were even more disappointed. It was a brick building with only a few benches that looked like they were older than the gods. A decrepit ticket booth stood in one corner, while two dingy bathrooms lined one of the walls. The only person in the station was the ticket vendor.

Percy approached the booth with caution. Inside an elderly man sat snoring, his head resting against the back wall. Percy stood there for a moment, then he coughed. When the man was unresponsive, he coughed again louder. When this only rewarded him with a snore, he rapped his knuckles on the table numerous times. The old man woke with a start, and after looking around for a second to see who had rapped, directed his attention at Percy.

"I would like 13 tickets for the train to Chicago please." He said.

The old man looked at him, then at the assortment of children in the waiting area, then at him again. After a moment he said in a gruff voice, "Do you have a parent with you boy?"

A year ago Percy would be fumbling for a response to get them on the train, but now he had a sure-fire way of getting them on. He snapped his fingers, willing the mist around him to gather in front of the old man, then said, "Oh, but they were just here a moment ago. You saw them, didn't you? They just want me to get the tickets for them."

Percy smiled at the man as he brought forth thirteen train tickets. "Thank you sir." He said to the attendant. The old man just nodded at him and went back to sleep. Percy had to smile at how easy things were now that he had learned how to manipulate the Mist.

He returned to his seat, figuring that from the schedule the train would arrive in about fifteen minutes. He told everyone to not get to comfortable because they would be leaving soon, and he himself went over to the lone phone both in the area to call his mom.

She picked it up with almost no hesitation on the first ring. "Percy?" she asked, slightly out of breath.

Percy chuckled to himself. "Yes mom, its me."

She gave a sigh of relief. "Oh thank the gods," she said, "I had not heard from you in a few days and I was getting worried. Let me tell you, its no good having a demigod to worry about all the time."

He laughed openly at this. How true a statement, he thought. "I just haven't really gotten a chance to call in the last few days, so here I am now."

"Tell me all about your trip since you last called me, I want to hear all the details." She said.

So Percy repeated what had happened. The discovery of the newest demigods, the strengthening of the wolf, the unknown diseases some of them were suffering from, and their final decision to go on the train the rest of the way.

When he finished, his mom was silent on the other side for a moment, digesting the information her son had given her. The she said in a drawn out voice, "I think that so far, you have made some very good and appropriate choices. I do really like the train idea. I do ask of you one thing though."

"Sure," Percy replied, "Anything."

"I want all of you to stop by the apartment before you go to camp. That way you can all freshen up before you get there. I would also like to meet all of the kids you have found so far." She said.

Percy replied without hesitation. "Of course. I'd love to introduce you to the others."

There was another pause on the other side of the line, and then his mom said, "Well, I hope you enjoy the rest of the ride. Love you lots, and come home safe."

"I will mom. Love you." He said, then he hung up and returned to his seat.

It turned out that the train was not very punctual, and two hours after they had arrived the train finally came into the station. As they got on, Percy asked the conductor what had taken them so long to reach the station. His reply was somewhat puzzling to Percy, because with no expression he just said, "Body on the tracks," like it happened every day, and then returned to his duty.

The train ride from Wisconsin to Chicago was a short one. It only took a few hours, but the wait between trains was long, and they had to stay awake to catch it. During this time, Percy approached his brother Mel and asked him a question that had been nagging him for some time now. "Hey, when we first met, I found you at the bottom of that sinkhole, right? You had said that you had just been running when it collapsed, but I think that you were leaving something out."

Mel squirmed under the gaze of his older brother. Finally he gave in. "Alright, the hole did not just appear like I said it had," he said, "I mad it appear. With my gift." He waited for Percy to shout at him and say something like 'why did you not tell me before?', but he just nodded as if Mel had confirmed something.

"That is what I thought," Percy said, "I had felt something of a disturbance in the earth, and that is how we were able to find you. We knew that you were somewhere near by, but where we had no idea." Then he paused and said, "So, can you tell me what your gift is?"

Mel sighed. "I can create earthquakes, even if they are small. My foster dad taught me how to."

Percy did a double take. "Wait, your foster dad?" Mel nodded. "Was he a half-blood?"

Mel thought about it. "I don't think so. He did not have any of my powers, or any powers at all. As far as I can remember he was just an ordinary guy."

Percy frowned, thinking. How could this mortal know about Mel's gift? Was he clear sighted? That would be the best guess. It was all Percy could think of for the time being, but he made a mental note to ask Annabeth about it.

"So you can create earthquakes?" Percy said, turning back to his brother. Mel nodded. "Can you do any else?"

Mel said, "Nope, I thought that all I could do was earthquakes. Can we do something else as well?"

Percy smiled and directed Mel's attention to a cup of water. Mel did not see anything special about the glass, then gasped when it arced out of the cup with no help. He was amazed as he watched it make a dozen different shaped. He glanced back at Percy, but he was concentration on the glass. Finally it slipped back into the glass, and Mel applauded loudly. Percy mock bowed and smiled at the enjoyment his brother had for the water trick.

"Can I do that to?" Mel asked, exhilarated by the display.

"I do not know," Percy replied with a shrug, "I did not know that we could make earthquakes, but here you are showing me something new."

"So how do you do it?" Mel asked, "What is your secret?"

Percy tapped his temple and winked. "That is for me to know, and me alone." At Mel's look of disappointment he laughed and said, "But I will teach you and Max when we get to the camp, and in return you teach me how to create earthquakes. Deal?" Mel nodded ecstatically, ready to learn more.

By this time, the train arrived, and they were all glad to crash in the sleeping cars that Nico had been able to get for them. They all collapsed into their respective cars and fell asleep quickly.

The various dreams the demigods were having were interrupted when the train jerked to a stop, sending some of them flying out of their beds. Thalia, who had been sleeping with Rose, was one of the flying. She got up and ran out into the hall, her hair in a rat's nest as she looked around for someone to explain what had happened. She saw an engineer and yelled at him what had happened. He replied that the cops had stopped the train to apprehend a criminal who was onboard, and that they would be moving soon. Thalia went back to bed grumbling about idiot mortals and went back to sleep.

The next day, they were in New York when they woke up. It was the first time for many of them in the city, and they crowded around the window to look out at the skyline. Percy smiled thinking that this was his city that they were gawking at. Once they got over their amazement, they packed up the few belongings they had and started out into the city.

Percy had not forgotten the promise he made to his mom, so he hailed three taxis and headed over to his house.

It was quite the accomplishment to get all thirteen up the stairs, but after ten minutes they managed to. He rapped on the door, and it was Paul's smile that greeted him. "Percy!" He said, throwing open his arms and giving his stepson a hug which Percy returned.

From the other room Sally asked, "Paul, are they here?" then came into view. When she caught a sight of her boy she smiled and embraced him in turn. "Oh Percy, it is so good to see you again so soon! I was beginning to miss you."

"Me too mom." Percy said with a small laugh. After a moment, his mother let go of him and she was able to catch a glimpse of the twelve other children behind him.

"And these must be the other demigods." She said, giving a hug to both Nico and Thalia and a quick wave to the other children. When they did not move she gasped and said, "Well where are my manners? Come in come in! I want you to all feel at home." Then she ushered them into the living room.

They sat where they could, but there was not much room in the tiny apartment, so it was quite scrunched with people having to sit on others laps. But in the end they did all mange to fit, and Sally even brought in treats for them to eat. "Well," She said as she sat next to Paul and Percy, "how are you all enjoying things so far?"

There was a general murmur of agreement among the demigods, and Sally seamed pleased by the sound. "Have you run into any monsters so far?" This question produced a great deal of head nodding and glances at the sick kids. By this time Lucas had sores all over his body with some that had popped, Mari was silently coughing into her sleeve, and Nico grimaced every time he moved. "I will take that as a yes." Sally said. "Can you tell us which monsters you fought?"

"Well, we have only encountered two monsters, but they have done their part. There is a wolf that brings disease that has been infecting all of us and a giant shadow creature." Thalia said.

"Well, it sound like it has not been your average quest," Sally mused, "Shadow beast? Dog that brings disease? I have never heard of these things coming from Greek mythology."

"I know!" Percy said, "Its like they were in the backwaters of Greek mythology and they decided to turn up while we were looking for these kids."

"Well no matter what has attacked you so far, you are almost to camp," Sally said, "I have already informed Chiron that you will be there in a few hours. But if I may ask, how are you going to get there?"

They all paused for a second, thinking about this predicament. They had been using the bus for the rest of the journey, and now they had no idea of how to get to camp. But it was Paul who came up the plan.

"What it," he said tentatively, "Nico shadow-travels to camp and get Mrs. O'Leary. Then they both travel back and take a few kids at a time. I know that it wears you out, but hopefully it is so short a distance that it does not matter that much."

"That's a good idea." Nico said. "I am sure that I could do it in a few trips. If not, we can always have a taxi take the rest of us."

Percy nodded. "I think it is brilliant. Where should we have Mrs. O'Leary teleport? It needs to be a place where she will not be noticed."

"How about the top of a parking garage?" Thalia offered. Everyone else nodded in approval.

"Then it is settled," Percy said, "We find the nearest parking complex and go to camp from there. Ill call Blackjack to take me so that you guys won't have to take as many trips."

They all nodded and headed out the front door, pausing to say thanks and goodbye to their hosts. Sally gave all the big three demigods hugs and kisses as they left once more for summer camp.

(1123581321)

While the thirteen half-gods were traveling to the nearest parking garage, Mari started to cough up blood again and Lucas' eyes were completely shut from the blisters around his eyes, making the need to get to camp all the more urgent.

As soon as they got to the top, Nico ran into the shadow of the elevator with Mari and disappeared. A minute or two latter, a large black dog bounded out of the same shadow with Nico ridding her back. The dog promptly tackled Percy and started to lick his upper section. It took another minute to get her off of him and the next three demigods on her back. And it was off again. In a mere matter of five minutes, their journey was over.

But the complications were just getting started.


	23. We're Back!

**I do not own Percy Jackson or any of the characters in the Percy Jackson books.**

We're back!

Our players:

Percy Jackson: Son of Poseidon

Thalia: Daughter of Zeus

Nico Di Angelo: Son of Hades

Max: Son of Poseidon

Menelaus (Mel): Son of Poseidon

Lucas: Son of Phosphorus

Marigold (Mari): Daughter of Hades

Rosemary (Rose): Daughter of Zeus, sister of Gabe

Gabe: Son of Zeus, brother of Rosemary

Malcolm: Son of Hades

Sam: Unknown

Jo: Unknown

Andrew: Unknown

And now, the story

Chiron, Mr. D, Annabeth and Grover all sat around the card table on the porch of the big house playing cards. The golden laurel hung from Grover's horns at an angle as he studied the cards nervously. He knew from his bond with Percy that he was close, and that he would be arriving today with the demigods that he had found. The problem was how were they getting back to camp?

Mr. D threw in some cards. "I bet you five drachmas that they will be arriving by boat."

Annabeth shook her head and picked a card up from the pile. "The other children of the Big Three won't want to travel by water. I bet seven drachmas that they will arrive by a stolen van."

Grover picked up a tin can and munched on it while he contemplated his cards. "Stealing has never been Percy's style, although I could see Thalia and Nico doing it. I bet ten on them running in with a monster hot on their tails."

"Grover, just because that is how many people get to camp, don't go around assuming it is a fact." Said Chiron. "Assuming makes an ass out of you and me."

"But I'm a goat," he bleated.

"Not if I don't want you to be," stated Mr. D, leaving Grover slightly quivering. Just because he was a Lord of the Wild did not mean that he feared Mr. D any less.

"As for me," Chiron said wile laying down a winning hand to the groans of all the others, "I bet twenty drachmas that they get back by using Mrs. O'Leary." And with that he took the laurel off of Grover's horns and placed it on his head.

"You may have an uncanny knack of predicting things, but I refuse to be daunted by a horse." Mr. D groused as he shuffled the deck. "In order to raise the stakes in my favor, I say we bet on how many demigods come back. I say two."

Annabeth shot him a look. "Three left."

"Exactly."

Annabeth rolled her eyes in exasperation. "You are a terrible camp director."

"Exactly."

"As for me," Annabeth continued, "I say twelve come back. I think the Big Three have been busier than just the three right now."

"It is not a good idea to talk about the gods that way Annabeth," Grover said while looking at the sky. As if to answer him, a peal of thunder roared across the cloudless sky. "See what I mean."

"What ever goat boy," She tossed back at him.

"I agree with the goat," Mr. D said, "It is not a good idea to talk about us that way. We may just beat you in a game of cards."

"I would like to place my bet at eight demigods coming back." Grover said.

Chiron thought about it for a few rounds before saying, "I say six will come back. I adhere to Annabeth's idea to a lesser extent. I assume that we are all wagering the same amount of gold as before?"

They all nodded and continued to play. They played in silence for a few more minutes before the overpowering sound of Mrs. O'Leary barking from the training area brought them out of their stupor. Grover got up and said, "I guess she want's to go for a walk. Don't wait for me," then trotted off in the direction of the hellhound.

About halfway across the field the barking stopped. Grover frowned, but continued at a slower pace. He was just about to turn around when the barking started up again. Wondering if she had taken a pre-walk-potty-break in the arena, he picked up the pace. Then, just as he got near to arena again, she stopped barking. Something was up, and he ran just a bit faster.

But what he encountered was not a pile of dog poop as he entered the arena from the top of the seating area, but five kids sitting wide eyed on the lowest benches. As Grover stared in shock and wonderment as to how they had gotten into the camp without him knowing, he recognized a few of them. They were the kids with Percy!

He was about to jump down three sets of stairs and let out a welcoming cry when Mrs. O'Leary popped out of the shadows at the end of the arena with Nico in tow. The hellhound was carrying three dazzled kids on her back and Nico was holding another. Grover was caught off guard so much by the appearance that he missed his landing and tumbled down all of the stairs instead.

The kids all jumped at the sudden appearance of the Satyr, and one even let out a muffled shriek. "I'm ok, I am ok. Just a misstep." He mumbled as he got up. Mrs. O'Leary let out a bark as if to say 'I totally agree! Give me a treat now!'

"Good to see you as well Grover," Nico said as he deposited his passenger on the bench next to the others who were eyeing Grover's legs and proceeded to help the other three off of Mrs. O'Leary. "Can you help me out and get Chiron?"

"Sure thing," Grover replied as he started to run back to the Big House. After running a few yards he turned around and asked cautiously, "How many of you are there, including Thalia and Percy?"

Nico stopped to do the math, then said, "Thirteen."

Grover just nodded and started to run again. Looked like Annabeth won some money today he thought to himself.

When he got back to the Big House, Mr. D looked up from his hand and said, "That was not a very long walk Mr. Underwood. I bet she did not even poop."

Grover was a bit speechless from sprinting, and had to take a moment to catch his breath. Finally he managed to say, "Chiron, Nico needs you at the Arena. They are back."

Annabeths' chair fell to the ground as she quickly stood up and started sprinting towards the Arena. Chiron nodded and quickly galloped down himself. Mr. D sighed and laid down a winning hand. "How many are coming back?" He asked hopefully.

"Thirteen."

"Drat."

LINE BREAK!

Percy emerged from the shadowy chaos that accompanied shadow travel, or as he liked to call it 'the best roller coaster ever', in the Arena in the camp on Mrs. O'Leary's back. He closed his eyes and tried to breath in the scent of his favorite placed in the world, but only seceded in smelling his two dirty younger brothers. They were both shaking a bit from the experience, but it wore off quickly.

Percy helped them get down from the large dog. He was helped by Mrs. O'Leary as she let out a toothy yawn and lay down. He led his brothers to the bench where the others had been deposited and surveyed the demigods.

They all looked worn out but relieved to be in a safe place. Mari was starting to cough up blood again, and the sores around Lucas' eyes were looking worse. Max was breathing heavily, and his brow was beaded with sweat as he leaned against Thalia's shoulder with his eyes closed. The others started clamoring about a man with goat legs falling from the top of the area. Percy smiled, hoping that it was Grover who had fallen, and he had a feeling that it was.

"Ill go get help," He said to his cousins.

"I already sent Grover to get Chiron," Nico said, "They should be here any moment."

As if on cue, Annabeth and Chiron burst around the edge of the Arena. Annabeth's eyes found Percy's, and they shared a special smile. Then she looked at the others and frowned. Chiron was ahead of her and was looking at Mari and Lucas as he galloped over.

"Percy, Nico, Thalia." He said smiling. They all smiled back at him, and in unison they pointed to Mari and Lucas. Chiron nodded and trotted over to them. One look was enough to compel him to grab both by their collars and hoist them on his back. They both gave shocked gasps, but then they both grimaced. Chiron turned tail and started back to the Big House while offering them Nectar.

Annabeth walked over to Percy and gave him a big kiss on the lips. This brought a group of gasps from the new demigods and wolf whistles from Percy's cousins. He just accepted it and kissed her back. After a few moments they broke apart. "I missed you." She said.

"Uh, duh," Percy replied.

"Classic," Nico muttered to Thalia.

Annabeth turned to give Thalia a hug. When she turned to Nico he closed his eyes and pursed him lips. He got a smack upside the head.

"I bet you all are ready for some rest." Annabeth said to the group in general. They all nodded, and Annabeth said, "Well, lets go and get you some beds."

**Once more, I give you a new chapter! Sorry I have been gone so long. I lost some inspiration, but I started to read some good fanfics and I decided that maybe I should get back to y'all. So here we are. Season 2, so to speak. From now on out everything will happen at the camp. As a side note, I saw the cover for the next HOO book in a bookstore window and thought that it was out now. I was so excited that I nearly (nearly) wet my pants. Until next time, enjoy!**


	24. Settling down

**Another chapter, and just in time for school! I am taking a creative writing class this year, so it will just be getting better. From now on, each chapter is going to take place in about the span of a day at camp. If you have any ideas for things they could do, you know how to contact me. I have ideas, but I could always use more. Untill next time, have fun reading!**

**I do not own Percy Jackson or any of the characters in said series.**

Settling down

Chiron galloped into the Big House as fast as he could go in camp. He had taken just a quick look at the two demigods on his back, but he already knew they were in critical condition. "I want the infirmary to be deserted. Only Will should be allowed into or out of the room." He said to an Apollo child. The child sprang up and checked the room. He came back and signaled that it was all clear. Chiron ducked in and laid the two demigods in beds.

The boy looked ghastly, welts and boils festering all over his body. His eyes were shut from the boils around his eyes. He also had a broken leg, but by now it had healed quite well. The girl was quietly coughing up blood, and the front of her shirt has flecks of blood from where it had splattered off of her hands. Chiron shook his head as he moved into his wheelchair and grabbed bandages and nectar. This was going to be a long afternoon.

He had given the girl enough nectar to stop the coughing for now, and was beginning to apply bandages to the boy when Will came in with Percy, Nico, and Max in tow. Nico was clutching his side and had a pained expression on his face. Max looked feverish. He was holding Percy's hand and stood very close to his leg, looking wide-eyed at Chiron.

Chiron smiled at the boy, then said, "Will, I could use your help with the boy. I fear that he may have smallpox."

Will took in a sharp breath, then moved Percy, Nico and Max into the room and closed the door behind them. He ran to a glass cabinet where they held all of their medical supplies and pulled out a small glass container. He directed Nico and the boy to beds, then said to Percy, "I want you to bring all the other demigods right here." After thinking for a moment he said, "Also bring Annabeth. She did give you that big kiss." Percy nodded and ran out the door.

"Hello again Max. It is good to see you again." Chiron said, remembering the conversation they had a few days ago. "And as always, it is good to have you with us again Nico."

Nico nodded slightly and sat down hard on a bed, his face contorted into a grimace. Max ran up to Chiron when he finally remembered who he was and started babbling, "I remember you! You are the horse-man! We talked a bit ago in the mist! That was so much fun. I want to do it again!"

Chiron just nodded to what he was saying and led him to a bed. "I am very glad to see as well Max. I see that you do not look so well. How about we take your temperature?"

Max scrunched up his nose with distaste, but took the thermometer when Chiron gave it to him. Chiron turned to Nico while Max waited. "What it your problem?" he asked Nico.

"Well, I have had a pain in my stomach area, about where my navel is, then it stopped for a while. Put it just started up again a few hours ago." Nico explained to the teacher.

Chiron sat and thought. Then he shook his head and turned back to Nico. "I think that you have appendicitis. Your appendix has probably ruptured and is now infected."

Nico went pale. "What will happen to me?" he asked nervously.

"Well, I think that I will have to remove your appendix, then keep you here for a few days to recover." He said this while looking at Max's thermometer. "Looks like you will have a friend here. Max, you have a temperature. I am sure that it is just the cold, but you will have to stay here for a few days until your fever breaks."

"But I wanted to see the camp!" Max complained.

"You can explore when you are better. For now though, you just have to rest." Chiron replied as he pulled out a needle. When Max saw the needle, his eyes grew big and he gave a shriek. Chiron looked at him in puzzlement, but when he saw how Max was looking at the needle he nodded sagely. "Are you afraid of needles?" He asked.

Max nodded his head. "I don't have to have the needle do I horse-man?" he asked.

Chiron nodded gravely. "We need to give you some antibiotics for the smallpox that other boy has. It is so that you do not get sicker."

Max did not look happy about the decision, but he covered his eyes with one hand and held out his arm. Chiron gently sank the needle into his arm and quickly covered it up with a Band-Aid. Max took his hand away from his eyes, and looked at the Band-Aid.

Then Chiron turned to Nico. "You next." He said, and quickly administered the drug.

There was a sound at the door, and Percy came in with the rest of the newcomers on his and Annabeth's heels. They all had apprehensive looks on their faces when Chiron said that Lucas had smallpox, but were relieved to hear that there was something to keep them safe. One by one they took the shot, then left with Percy, Annabeth and Thalia to look at their new home.

As the new demigods looked around, they found themselves discovering that this camp was strange beyond it's centaurs, hellhounds, and satyrs. The naiads in the canoe lake waved at them from where they made their baskets, and the climbing wall was spilling lava everywhere while campers tried to climb it. "Do we have to do that?" Mel asked, concern in his voice.

"You will eventually," Percy said to the collective groans of every new camper. "Don't worry," He said smirking, "The wall will throw you off before it burns you."

Annabeth punched him in his shoulder, but she was the one who massaged her hand after. "Don't scare them Percy." She said to him.

"I'll stop when you can hurt me, how's that?" He replied.

"Don't make me." She said. Percy paled a bit and sped up.

"Over here is the amphitheater." Thalia announced. "You will have events here, as well as after dinner sing along and the end of the year announcements." Some of the new campers whispered among themselves about the prospects of the sing along. Others were looking eagerly at the other parts of the camp, eager to explore.

The next place was the awe-inspiring cabins. A number of new cabins had been erected for the minor gods, and they added nicely to the already odd big twelve cabins. They walked around the inner circle where the big twelve's cabins still resided first. Percy brought the group to the two foremost cabins on the left of the horseshoe. "Some of you will be residing in these two cabins," Percy said, "Can you guess who they belong to?"

Rose's hand shot into the air. "Zeus and Poseidon." she said proudly when Thalia pointed to her.

"Very good." Percy said. "The big ugly one is Zeus' cabin, and the small stout one is Poseidon's. Each cabin is built to honor the god it is dedicated to, so each one is special. As you can see, my cabin is made out of sea stone and is built like a storm shelter. Zeus' cabin is large and expansive, like his ego." Thunder rolled in the distance, while Thalia, Gabe and Rose all glared at Percy.

"If you keep on speaking about my father that way, you may just wake up with a new look Perseus." Thalia threatened. Percy palled a bit and herded the bemused campers on their way to the other cabins.

The next one they reached was a black building, guiled with golden and platinum columns. Terrifying façades adorned the sides of the building, and a plaque with a golden bident on a black background was positioned above the door. "There is no question to whose cabin this is?" Percy mused, and the others all nodded. "This will be your new home Malcolm." He said. Malcolm looked slightly happy at that prospect.

They wandered through the cabins, showing the last three demigods that were picked up the Hermes cabin where they would be staying while they waited to be claimed. After the tour was done, the new campers were sent off to settle in their new cabins while the head councilors got them new clothes.

(Hermes Cabin)

Travis and Connor where the only ones in the cabin when they heard the cabin door creak open. They turned around nonchalantly while at the same time slipping the blueprints to their newest pranks into their pockets to see three new campers and Percy in the doorway. "Percy," Connor said with mock politeness, "It has been to long! You never call, you never write, and when you visit it is only to bring in new campers."

"It's good to see you Connor." Percy said with a smirk. "You too Travis," he said when the other boy opened his mouth. "You know I never write because I can't tell what words I had wrote down already."

"You could have written in Greek." The head councilor retorted. "Anyways, who are the newest guest to Hermes cabin you have brought us? I hope they are strong, we could always use good muscles when building the tunnels."

Percy rolled his eyes, then presented the new campers. "This is Jo, Sam and Andrew. They will be staying here for a few days until they are claimed. Take good care of them."

The two councilors studied the campers. The one named Jo had brown hair and brown eyes, but her eyes were darting around and looking at everything that was in the worn down cabin. Sam had short black hair and cold blue eyes, and she just started at them icily, like it was their fault that she was there. The last one, named Andrew, looked like an ox, all muscle. His blond hair covered his forehead and complemented his chestnut eyes.

"Welcome to Hermes cabin!" Travis exclaimed. "You will feel right at home here. Just place your belongings at your bed," He said as he pointed to three empty beds. The cabin was looking much better now that the number of unclaimed campers had gone down, but it was still a mess. At least there were now open bunks. As the newbies moved to their beds, Travis heard Sam mutter to Jo, "I hope we don't stay here long. It is so cramped."

"I don't know," Jo replied, "I don't think it will be that bad."

While the newbies were arranging themselves and Travis and Connor were getting back to their plans, Annabeth opened the door. The two brothers snapped their heads up and hid the plans again. Annabeth frowned at them disapprovingly, but said nothing as she brought in new camp shirts for the campers. "Don't leave anything you value in sight," She whispered to them as she gave them their cloths, "Or it will be gone by the time you get back. Also you are free to look around the camp until dinner, but make sure to stay away from the woods. Get back here before dinner because you will be lining up with the rest of your cabin. Have fun!" And with that she left the three to their whims.

(Poseidon Cabin)

Percy brought Mel to their cabin after he had dropped off Jo, Andrew and Sam. When they entered the cabin, Mel looked around while Percy put his stuff away. "Welcome to your new home." Percy said, smiling.

The first thing that Mel noticed was that the room was dominated with Percy's things that were spread all over. He had posters of different athletic teams posted on the walls, and his clothes were pilled in a heap under another bunk. Mel bet that it was like this most of the time. Percy hurried around and tried to tidy up a bit more. Mel saw him stuff a swimsuit calendar under a pillow. When he was done, Percy turned around and gestured to the other bunks. "You can get your own bunk, so choose one to put your stuff on."

"Has it always been just you in here?" Mel asked as placed his stuff on another bunk, near the anemones on the windowsill. The whole place had a salty smell, but also a faint smell of sweaty teenager.

Percy nodded. "Yup, just me. Have you been on your own before."

Mel nodded back. "Once, with Adam. I was the only kid there, which was a god, I mean gods, send."

Percy frowned. "Why did you have to leave? It sounded like you liked that place a lot."

Mel studied the sheets. "I had to be moved. Social service and the like."

"Well you are more than welcome to stay her with me for the summer." Percy said. "How about we go and get you some new cloths at the camp store." Mel nodded, and they walked off to the store.

(Infirmary)

Malcolm walked into the infirmary looking for his siblings. He spotted Nico laying on his back on a cot, Mari sleeping on another cot, Lucas and Max following suit. When Nico saw him come in, he patted the spot next to him on the bed. Malcolm jumped up and sat quietly. After a bit he said, "I tried to set up in the Hades cabin, but I felt lonely so I came here."

Nico chuckled. "You have come to the right place. We are all waiting for dinner to come, so you can wait with us. Sound like a plan?" When Malcolm nodded, Nico settled back and asked if he had ever heard of Mythomagic.


	25. Three Explorers

**New Chapter. Hope you like it.**

**I do not own Percy Jackson.  
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The Three Musketeers

There were still hours to go before dinner, or said to Stolls, so the three demigods from Wisconsin decided to have their own look at the camp. They raced each other to the Zeus cabin, wondering what it looked like on the inside. Jo got there first, then Sam, and finally Andrew came last wheezing. "I don't know how you to run so fast," He huffed with his hands on his knees, "But you should either stop or let me in on the secret."

Jo laughed, and Sam just rolled her eyes. "It was only, like, forty feet," Sam sighed.

"That's still a long ways for me to sprint!" Andrew said as he straightened his back. "Anyways, I'm a long distance runner, not a sprinter like you," he pointed out.

Sam rolled her eyes again and turned to knock on the door. But her upraised hand hit Gabe's nose instead. Sam blinked at the boy, taken aback. It was weird for her because he was just about her height. "So-orrry," She stammered, taken aback. Behind her, Andrew and Jo were snickering. She glared back at them to shut them up, then turned back to the boy who was rubbing his nose nonchalantly.

"It's fine," he drawled lazily, the corners of his mouth pricked up. "I assume that you were trying to get out attention?" He asked, still blocking the door.

Sam mutely nodded.

"Of course they were brother," Rose scolded unseen from behind her brother, "Why else would they be outside?"

Gabe glared back at his sister. "It was a rhetorical question, Rose, they weren't supposed to answer it.

His sister swept into the door frame, dwarfing her brother by a few inches. He glared up at her, but she did not give notice. She had already changed into the camp T-shirt given to them by the Big Three, and her black hair combed and clean. She looked the other three up and down, and nodded to herself. "You wanted to come in?" she asked, and they all nodded their heads.

As they shuffled in, Rose said, "Brush your feet off at the door." They just nodded dumbly as they looked around the cabin. Or mansion, they thought as they looked at the ten foot high ceiling and marble columns. Lightning arced across the ceiling in holographic fashion, so it took the three by surprise when thunder boomed above them. "Great, huh?" Gabe gloated. He held his arms up and swirled around like a snowflake in the hall.

The three just nodded dumbly again.

The gilded hall was lined with half a dozen statues of Zeus, all staring accusingly at the three new demigods. At the end of the hall was the big man himself. Ten feet tall, lightning bolt brushing the ceiling, he was an impressive sight to behold. Unlike the other six statues, this one was made entirely of old bronze. The statue was beaten and battered, and it looked like it was in bad need of a scrub down. But if anyone wanted to, those eyes would have made them back off. They glared at base, where anyone would be if they were kneeling before it.

Each statue occupied it's own alcove, the biggest statue taking up the whole other end of the hall. Andrew frowned as he looked around. "Where are the beds?" He asked.

Gabe and Rose exchanged a look. Then they both looked back and shrugged. The other three gawked at the two children of Zeus. "You don't know where the beds are?" Jo said, astonished. "And I thought we had it bad in our cabin."

Gabe frowned and ran his had though his black hair. "I know. It's weird, right? No place for the children for the king of the gods to sleep, even in his own house." He stormed. His sister tried to say something to comfort him, but he pushed her away and continued to rant, "I mean, he's the 'father' of the gods! Even Thalia, his eldest daughter, does not know. All we have are a bunch of stupid statues to keep us company in this dreary, cold, damp…" Thunder rolled above him and the room darkened. Gabe just glared at the ceiling.

"Gabe," Rose snapped, "Be respectful of our father and what he has given us. Be thankful that you have anywhere to stay at all."

The two glared at each other for a few more seconds before Gabe turned sharply to the other three and glared at them. "So what is it that you would like to see?" He asked icily.

Sam bristled at him. "You have no right to use that tone of voice with us Gabe," She said, just as crisply. "We had wanted to spend some time with you and your sister, but now I see that we are not wanted. I hope to see you at dinner." And with that she spun on her heel and swept out of the room.

Gabe's face fell when she left. Jo and Andrew looked at each other warily, then said their goodbyes and took their leave. When they got out side they saw Sam storming of ahead of them. "Hey, Sam, wait up!" Jo shouted as she ran to catch up with her friend.

"What was that all about?" Jo demanded when she caught up. Sam's face was flushed, but she had a look of defiance on her face as well. "Nothing." She snapped. "Lets check out the forest?" She asked as she turned to the woods. Jo and Andrew exchanged glances again and jogged to keep up with her pace.

When they reached the edge of the forest, Sam dove in headfirst, forcing her friends to follow. She disappeared for a while, but they found her a while latter under a tree. She was sitting there looking around, and did not give any recognition when her friends sat down next to her. They sat there in silence for a good ten minutes before Andrew asked, "So why did you storm off like that?"

Sam bowed her head, then mumbled, "He just reminded me of my brother."

Jo and Andrew both did a double take. "You have a brother?" She asked astonished. Sam nodded.

"Why did you not tell us?" Andrew asked.

"Because," Sam mumbled again, "He is dead."

Jo and Andrew looked at her like she was a new person. "You have a _dead _brother?" Jo practically shouted.

Sam whipped her head up, ice blue eyes gleaming. "You don't have to tell the whole wold ya know," she hissed. "Yes, I _had _a brother, but now he is dead."

Jo looked at Sam with suspicion, but her heart melted when she saw that Sam was trying to hold back tears. "Oh honey," Jo cooed as she embraced her friend, "I know you probably feel terrible about it." Sam just nodded and broke down in her friends arms. Jo rocked her back and forth and muttered soothing words. Andrew just patted her on the back clumsily. After a time Sam stopped sobbing and gently pushed back Jo. "It's just that Gabe reminded me of him," she explained, "He was always angry at my father."

"So he was your half-brother?" Andrew inquired, and Sam nodded.

"He was born a few years before me, but he never liked my father. He blamed him for breaking up the family," Sam said.

"Was he mean to you?" Jo asked with wide eyes, but Sam just laughed.

"Mean? He thought I was an angel," She said wistful, "He would have never hurt me. He just hatted my father." Quickly, she jumped up from where they had been sitting when she heard a horn blow in the distance. "Come on," She urged, "I think that is the signal for dinner. Who knew that time passed so fast in this forest?"

They were trudging back to the camp when Andrew stopped and asked, "Do we know where we are going?" Sam and Jo looked at each other and shrugged. "I think this is the wrong way," Andrew insisted.

"Oh lay off," Jo said passively, "The woods can't be that big, can they?" And so they continued on, going deeper and deeper.

When they passed the same clearing for the third time, Jo said nervously, "I think Andrew was right after all. We should head back the other way." The other two just turned around mutely and started back with a quicker pace. They sped up when they heard a howl in the distance.

"What do you think that is?" Andrew asked quivering, "I think that sounded like a mountain lion."

Sam chuckled. "Silly," she mocked, "There are no mountains in New York. And mountain lion's don't live this far south. Besides, they scream, they don't howl." She nearly jumped three feet when a creature screamed far behind them. They decided to speed up.

When they passed the clearing for the fourth time, they broke into a run. It was still light out, but the shadows made the forest look like they were in a patch of midnight that had never been removed. As they rumbled through the trees, they keep on looking behind them to see if the noises they were hearing were coming for them. So far they had seen only moving shadows, but that was enough to move them along. They thought that they were making headway when they reached a strange bolder, but they all screamed when a dark black cat the size of a horse landed on the same bolder. It looked at them with it's greens eyes and bared it's teeth in a snarl. The three screamed and tripped over each other as they turned back the other way.

Gasping for breath, the three crashed through the underbrush, frantic to get away from the cat. They no longer cared if they stayed on what looked like the trail, they just had to get back to the safety of the camp. Jo was in the lead, and when she ran into another clearing she stopped dead in her tracks. Sam was looking behind her while she ran, so she slammed head-first into her friend. Andrew was hot on Sam's heels and had no time to react before he too fell to the ground.

Sam shook her head and groaned. "Why did ya stop!" she said, her voice cracking, "That thing is right behind us!" As if to answer, a scream reverberated from the woods around them.

Jo sat up and spat out leaves. "I saw that," she said pointing.

Looming in front of them was a fifteen foot tall mound of boulders. They looked like a giant pile of deer poop. But the ground around the boulders were barren of any plant life. Pot holes marred the same barren earth.

"Well I'm not just going to sit here gaping," Andrew said as he started to run for the boulders, "I'm going to get away."

Sam and Jo were hesitant, but when the cat screamed closer they quickly followed suit. Andrew was already scrambling up the rock face when they reached it. It was only seconds before all three of them were at the top. There they stood on the top of the pile of rocks, back to back, when they heard a rustling in the bushes from where they had came from. They held their breaths until they saw the cat slink out of the woods. It's black pelt contrasted sharply with it's green eyes and white teeth. It was making great use of those teeth as it prowled around the base.

"Guys," Andrew gulped as sweat ran down his face in rivulets, "If we die, I'm glad it was with you."

Sam snorted and rolled her eyes, "Don't worry, you will be the first one I give to cat as I-"

BOOOOOOOM!

All three of the young demigods jumped and screamed when the sound and heat reached their faces. At the base of the pile, a five foot smoking hole was all that was left of the cat that had prowled around them. The three were so stunned that they just sat there, wide eyed, until Percy found them.

"Hey, what are you doing up there?" He asked when he came across them. They were startled to see him, then they got over their surprise and started to scramble down the rock face babbling.

"There was this cat..."

"It was as big as a Hummer!"

"It's teeth were like swords in it's mouth..."

"I almost wet my pants when i saw it."

They went on and on until they got to the bottom. When they reached the ground they rushed to Percy and embraced him. Percy was nearly knocked over when they grabbed him, but when they clung to him he laughed and said, "If you hung to me any longer I would think that you were babies asking for milk."

They let go.

Percy laughed again and ruffled their hair. "Now follow me, we have been waiting forever for you three to come to supper, and I'll tell you I'm starving. I Bet you are too, huh?" They nodded ravenously, all thoughts of the dangers in the woods forgotten.


	26. Supper Time

**Another chapter, and in just a few days! i must be in a good mood. Don't expect this to happen to often, but until next time enjoy.**

**I do not own Percy Jackson**

Our Characters

Malcolm: son of Hades

Menelaus (Mel): son of Poseidon

Max: son of Poseidon

Gabe: son of Zeus, brother to Rosemary

Rosemary (Rose): daughter of Zeus, sister to Gabe

Lucas: son of Phosphorus

Marigold (Mari): daughter of Hades

The Three: all unknown parentage, collectively referred to as the Three.

-Jo

-Andrew

-Sam

Supper Time

Sam, Jo and Andrew fell into place behind the rest of their cabin, who shot looks at them, one even muttering, "Gods do they smell." But it could not be helped. All animosity was soon forgotten as the Stolls started moving at the front of the line. A symphony of stomachs heralded the arrival of all the cabins as they filled in the eating area.

When all the cabins were seated at their tables, Chiron stamped his hoof on the ground twice. All talking ceased. "We have some new guests," Chiron boomed, "So make them welcome."

"Only if they agree on being on time from now on!" A camper shouted from the back.

Chiron glanced at the three who had held them up. "Do not harry them about it," He said, "They just got lost in the forest. I know you have done worse to hold up dinner Clarence," he added, glaring at the boy who had spoken. Snickers ran through the camp as he blushed. "And now," the centaur continued, "Let's eat!"

A roar went up as campers scrambled for their tables. The normally nearly vacant Big Three tables were less so tonight. Percy and Mel sat at the Poseidon table, their hair sticking up. At the Zeus table Rose and Thalia talked and Gabe brooded at the end of the table, away from his siblings. The Hades table was still vacant, Malcolm having elected to eat in the infirmary.

After they had given their sacrifice to the gods, Annabeth slipped as per custom to the Poseidon table. "What happened to you two?" She asked, looking at their hair.

"Pillow fight," Percy said between mouthfuls. The two looked as if they were trying to have a eating contest the way they were wolfing down their food.

Annabeth snorted and rolled her eyes. "Boys," She muttered, then started in on her food, though not as fast.

When Mel was done with his mac and cheese, he looked at his empty plate with remorse. Percy saw his forlorn look as he was tucking into a salad with blue dressing. "What, don't want more?" He asked.

Mel looked skeptically at his older brother. "Is there more?"

Percy nodded as he crunched on burrito. "Just say what you wan't at the plate, and it will appear. Same with the glasses."

"I thought it just came to you at the beginning of meals." Max said, "Plus none of the other tables are having seconds."

Percy waited until he had finished slurping down a bowl of captain crunch to reply. "I have a special deal with Chiron," he explained, "He said that because of my Achilles curse, I need more food, so I can have whatever I want at this table."

Mel looked at him with distrust, but when he muttered, "Hot Pocket," at his plate, there it was. His eyes widened to the size of his plate and he dove in head first.

Annabeth just looked on with disgust as her boyfriend ate his sixth course in five minutes. "Swimmers," she muttered. But she was not innocent as she ate another course herself.

Over at the Hermes table, the Three were boisterously exclaiming how they had defeated a mountain lion. The entire table laughed as Andrew and Jo played out the scene on the table. Plates lay cracked around their feet, and a fork was stuck in the sole of Andrew shoe. "So I picked up a rock like this," Andrew yelled over the din as he picked up a mug, "And smote the creature on the head." Jo pretended to take the blow and fell in slow motion onto the table. "Then Percy ran into the clearing and saw what we had done. He was like, 'Wow, I know I could not have done that!'"

Sam nodded from the bench and added, "He asked us to personally train with him because we were so good."

The Hermes campers roared with laughter at that statement to the perplexity of the Three. At their looks, Connor stood up and yelled to Percy, "Hey Perce, these three young whippersnappers thought that they had the stuff to train with you!"

Percy grinned wolfishly as he held two thumbs up. "We start at daylight tomorrow morning," he yelled back as he dove back into his food.

The Three's faces grew paler when Travis said, "good luck, Percy is the best swordsman we have had in over three hundred years. He even beat two titans!"

As the talking dwindled and the columns were bathed in the light of the sinking sun, Chiron pounded his hoof on the floor of the eating area again. When all was silent, he announced, "A reminder too all campers, there will be capture the flag on sunday night." A roar ran through the area before silence was restored through muttered hushes. Chiron continued, "The teams holding the flags are Ares and Hermes."

"Great," Percy muttered rubbing his hands together, "Just like the first time.

"I will remind you that each of the Big Three demigods must come in ten minutes late and if Percy is touched physically, he is out. Any questions?" No one raised their hands. "Good. Now, off you go for songs!"

The eating area erupted as campers flooded out. The Amphitheater inhabited by only shadows when they arrived, but was soon roaring with life as the campfire went up in multicolored flames. They settled down into at five feet high, but still changed colors. Percy bent down to his brother and whispered, "This is where we come and sing at night. You may not know any of the songs now, but you will catch on fast."

At the bottom of the Amphitheater the Apollo cabin was tuning their strings, but they still sounded great. Will grabbed a mike and boomed, "One two, One two. What did you say, your ears are bleeding? I could not hear you."

"Thats because you have been at and in too many concerts!" A camper yelled, but Will's guitar was to loud and the camper gave up.

Twelve songs latter, the fire and the Apollo kids were winding down. Mel stifled a yawn, and Percy was asleep on Annabeth's shoulder. The Zeus children were still singing much to loud along with the Three. Sam was with them jamming when she saw the light change around her. The fire was a dull green, but the people around here were bathed in blue. Puzzled, she looked up to see a trident glowing blue above her head. She poked Thalia. "Is this normal?"

Thalia looked at her, then her head. Then at Percy, who was drooling on his girl. By now most of the rest of the camp had noticed, and they all were pointing at her. Annabeth saw and pushed Percy. He fell and woke up. Looking up, he saw the hologram floating over Sam. A hush had settled over the camp, and he used it to his advantage. He murmured something under his breath, then announced, "All hail, Sam..." He frowned. "I never got your last name. What was it again?"

"Silversmith," She squeaked.

Percy started over. "All hail, Sam Silversmith, daughter of Poseidon!"

Sam fainted.

When Sam woke back up, she was still in the Amphitheater. Campers crowded around her, but Percy loomed over the rest of them. "Giver her room," he said, and the crowd reluctantly parted. Percy offered a hand, and Sam took it. He lifted her to her feet with little difficulty. "Welcome to the family," he said smiling. "How about we explain the situation better at out cabin."

Sam nodded, then glanced at her friends. They looked just as flabbergasted as her, but Jo reached out a hand to touch her arm and mouthed 'we will see you tomorrow at breakfast.' Sam nodded and walked away with her new brother.

Percy went back to where Annabeth and Mel were sitting. Mel was fast asleep on the bench, so Percy just picked him up like a stuffed doll. He gave Annabeth a quick peck on the cheek, then led Sam out of the Amphitheater into the welcoming silence of night.

They walked back to the cabin with only the sounds of the water on the beach and the crickets chirping to comfort them. When they got to the cabin, Percy laid their brother on a bunk and motioned for her to take one of the unoccupied ones. "I will be back with your things in a second," he said, and then he left.

Sam looked around, trying to ignore the smell of old cloths and saltwater. The plants on the windowsills gave off a florescent light in the dim of the room, painting pictures on the wall. A saltwater spring sat on the other end of the room, and cracks ran through in precise lines.

A moment latter, just like he had promised, Percy returned with the few things Sam had in the Hermes cabin. He set them down on the bed Sam was occupying and rolled into his own bed. "So," He said, staring at the darker version of her own eyes, "You have been claimed by Poseidon. Congrats."

Sam fidgeted with her pants. She could never sit still, especially not now. "Is that supposed to be sarcastic?" She snapped.

Percy relented, hands in the air. "No, just a friendly greeting. I knew I had a sister, and truth be told I was hoping it was you."

Sam looked at him suspicion. "Really?" She asked.

"Really" he replied.

"Why?"

"Because in my mind, you would be an awesome sister." He said nonchalantly.

Sam was struck that he would think that she would be an awesome sister, but it also reminded her of her other half-brother. He had said the same thing when she had asked him why he did not hate her.

"Now get to sleep," Percy said yawning, "We start all the real training early. You wanted to be training buddies, remember?"

Sam went to bed deciding that Percy could be an awesome brother too.


	27. Morning Glory

**Sorry for the long wait, school and stuff. I find it amazing that this story is encroaching one year, and it has not even been two weeks in the same story. Crazy, huh?**

**I do not own Percy Jackson**

Morning Glory

Sam was having a blissful dream about cupcakes when when she felt a wave of cold wash over her. It was like nothing she had ever felt before, and her eyes snapped open.

Percy was leaning over with a empty bucket in his hands, grinning at her. She shot up in her bed, the sheets rolling off of her soaked. Water had pooled under her, and she could feel the mattress sag under her.

"Wakey Wakey!" Percy said in a sing-song voice. He tossed thee empty bucket away, and Sam could see her two friends behind him clinging to their soaked cloths. Sam frowned and looked at her dry body. Percy laughed when he saw her looking. "It our gift as children of Poseidon. So I needed ice cold water to get your attention."

"Thats a rotten thing to do." Sam chattered. Her arms pumped furiously as she tried to keep herself warm. "Why didn't you just shove me out of bed or something?"

"Because this was more exciting," Percy snorted. "Now get out of bed. We need to get to work before the sun comes up."

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After some new warm cloths, the three campers and Percy made their way to the weapons shed. Percy threw it open with a flourish and gestured to the sword rack. "Pick your weapon. Make sure that you pick something that you can hold in the air and swing."

The three of them looked at each other, then back at Percy. "You don't expect us to fight you with these, do you?" Sam said, gulping.

Percy snorted. "Of course I expect you to use these real live weapons. In real life as a demigod, you will be attacked by monsters. And the only way to get rid of the monsters is to use a real weapon. So we practice with them. Now, grab one. Im going to teach you how to use them."

The three continued to look at him in disbelief. Percy sighed. He grabbed three small lighter swords and thrust them into the hands of the younger campers. Andrew nearly dropped his on his own foot, but caught it in the nick of time. Percy hung his head and shook it.

Then Jo pipped up. "What about you? Where is your sword?"

Percy grinned and whipped out a pen from his pocket. The three looked at him in wonderment, until he pulled off the cap. Riptide sprang into life, three feet of celestial bronze. "I have my weapon. Now get your sorry butts to the arena, we have a workout to do."

When they got to the arena, Percy pointed to the sword fighting area. "Stay there until I get back. I need to get some things. Make sure you have your weapons out. I want to make sure you are ready." With that he left.

Sam, Jo and Andrew looked at each other and shrugged. They moved over to the Sword area and stood around. They just keep on standing there, swords hanging listlessly at their sides. Jo was about to fall asleep on Sam's shoulder when her sword was whacked violently by and invisible force. Jo was so surprised that she dropped the sword in the darkness. The two identical sounds of metal on metal told her that Sam and Andrew had been attacked as well.

Jo dropped to the ground and felt around for her weapon. She cursed when she found it with the back of her hand, and felt along the edge to find the handle. Near her she heard Andrew yelp out and the thump of another sword on the ground. Ignoring the throbbing pain on the back of her hand, she picked up her sword and moved towards the chaos.

In the little light of the sun that lingered bellow the horizon, Jo could see Sam looking around with wild eyes for the attacker. She was moving her sword around while backing up, but it kept on getting hit by another, invisible sword. Jo decided to catch the invisible intruder unawares, and advance from behind. Sam saw her moving into position, and dropped back another few feet to lead on the attacker.

The trick seemed to work, and the attacker's sword kept on meeting Sam's. Jo picked up her pace and swung her sword at the intruder's midsection. Her eyes widened when it passed through the space where the intruder should have been. She stood there looking at the empty air for too long, and she was kicked back onto her butt, her sword skidding out of her hand again.

The three new campers tried for an hour to find their adversary and defend against the person at the same time, but they just could not land a hit. Finally the force stopped, and they all collapsed to the ground gasping for breath and wiping the sweat off of their drenched brows. By now the sun was over the lake, and in the light they saw a old Yankees hat plop down in front of them. Wearily, they looked back to see a equally drenched Percy grinning back at them.

"So, did you like the workout?" He smirked.

The three of them just groaned as they continued to nurse their bruised and battered bodies. Andrew yelped when Percy whacked in the back with Riptide and stood up. Sam and Jo followed suit to avoid anymore of the deadly blade. "Get to the lake," Percy said, gesturing with his sword to the body of water, "We need to take a bath before breakfast starts."

At least the lake water felt nice.

When they got to breakfast the four demigods were all clean and dry, thanks to Percy's powers. In fact, Sam was feeling great after taking a dip in the refreshing water, but the other two were not so lucky. Their purple arms, legs and faces were not a good match with their orange camp t-shirts. Percy gave them both seat cushions to sit on during breakfast, and they did not hesitate to take the treasured gift.

Andrew and Jo lined up behind the other kids from the Hermes Cabin. When they passed the councilors, Travis smirked and asked, "So, did you learn your lesson on bragging?"

They looked at each other, then back at Travis and Connor. Their heads nodded so fast they looked like they were going to fall off.

When they got to the Hermes table, they looked over to see Sam seated in her new place at the Poseidon table with Mel and Percy looking dejected. Sam must have felt their gaze on the back of her neck, because she looked back to meet the gaze of her friends. Her eyes rolled as she glanced back at her brothers and she mouthed, 'save me!' Jo and Andrew could only shrug and take their place at their table.

Breakfast went on like dinner had the last night, but for some reason Andrew's bowl kept on refilling with whole wheat corn flakes, not captain crunch like he wanted, and his toast was also whole grain. Andrew thought that it was weird that he was not getting what he wanted, but he shrugged it off and dug in.

The breakfast at the Poseidon table was much quieter than it had been the night before. Sam stared into her bowl moodily for most of the meal, and Mel was to scared of his new sister to say anything. He glanced once more at the Hades table, where Malcolm was sitting all by himself. He wanted to go and sit with him, but Mel knew that it was against the rules. He might have broken them elsewhere, but he liked Percy too much to get in trouble with him.

The Zeus table wasn't that happy this morning either, and Thalia had slight bags under her eyes. The silver circlet was slightly askew, and Rose and Gabe sat on either side of her mowing down their food, not looking up at each other.

After breakfast was over, Percy led his siblings to the area. As a head councilor, he was in charge of teaching sword lesions. And his cabin was first.

First, the three Poseidon kids headed to the weapons shed and picked out a sword for Mel. "We want a sword fit for you,"Percy mused, "I think that for right now, we will just get you a practice sword. You can keep your own sword when I think you are ready."

Mel looked a bit crestfallen that he could not have his own sword. He pointed to Sam and said, "She has a sword, I want one too!" Sam hefted hers onto her shoulder and continued to ignore her little brother.

"That's a practice sword also," Percy replied dryly as he sorted through his options. "Besides, that sword doesn't fit her and she can't keep it. After this morning, I think I will keep swords away from her for a while."

Sam's mouth drooped open and her sword slid down and hit the floor with a thunk. "I can't keep it?" She said, awestruck. "Im not a little kid! I avoided you the best this morning! I deserve to keep a sword!"

Percy slid out a smaller sword from a bin. It was bronze, the regular kind. He gave it to Mel, who nearly dropped it. Then he turned to his sister. "No, you don't. Keeping a sword is a privilege. I hope that you can take one home at the end of the summer, but for now you are to unskilled. If you prove to me that you can not chop off your foot with the sword, then you may keep it. But for now, no permanent sword for you."

Sam sulked, but allowed herself to be led into the arena.

It was just the Poseidon cabin, but Percy said that they would probably be with other cabins as the summer went on. "You remember that we are playing capture the flag soon, right? Well, we determine teams by swapping chores and activity times, so our times might change. By the way, you will be playing in a real game of capture the flag, not the wuss game we played two days ago. That means real swords."

Percy's siblings looked at him wide eyed. "Real swords?" Mel stammered. "We use _swords_?"

"What kind of capture the flag are we playing? I thought this camp was for learning how to protect yourself against monsters!" Sam squeaked.

Percy snorted. "Like I said, this is real capture the flag. We go against other campers so that we can hone our skills without much danger. And don't worry, you will have armor. So, lets make sure you know how to wield a sword so you can do Poseidon cabin proud."

Zeus, Poseidon and Hermes cabin all had archery after their first activity. Thalia grumbled about how she should be leading the class, not the Apollo cabin, but she let it go when they started. Percy had to stay behind and teach sword fighting, so it was Thalia, Mel, Malcolm, Gabe and Rose all together.

As much as Thalia tried to help Will teach, Malcolm, Mel and Sam never hit a target the entire hour.

Lunch came around, and all the new campers dug into their food like they had never tasted food before. Even just the two hours of camp life had worn them out. "Wait till this afternoon." Percy smirked at his siblings.

That after noon, Percy took all of the new campers to the climbing wall. No lava, but it was still imposing. Jo looked like she was about to cry. "Alright brownies," Percy shouted, "This is the easiest it will ever be for you, so have fun while you can."

Rose was the first person to take the challenge, clambering up like a mountain goat. Gabe was next, not one to be out done by his sister. They had spent so much time in Colorado, they had no trouble.

Mel and Malcolm looked at each other, then raced after. Neither got very far before they both fell down. But they got back up and kept on going. It was the Three left, and they were not ones to be left behind. They nearly knocked each other. over before they even got to the wall.

In the end, Rose got to the top first. She raised her arms up in the air in triumph, standing testament to her wall climbing greatness. Gabe got up next, eyeing his sister with distain. All the others could not make it up. The Three made it about halfway, then collapsed, while Mel and Malcolm did not even make it that far.

When they all got back down, Percy and Thalia clapped for them. "Well, at least you made it part way up without the lava on." Percy commented. "Next time we'll have to add that. Anyways, I can tell you are all tried of the first day of camp, so you can do whatever this afternoon."

All the new campers gave a sigh of relief and sank to the ground. Percy looked at them quizzically. "I know its the first day," he said, "but are you that tired?"

Most of them nodded. "I thinks its because your so used to it, you never realized how tiring this can be," offered Sam.

Percy shook his head and looked at Thalia. "You think we have been working them to hard?" He asked.

She responded by pointing her thumb at their pile. They were all asleep.


End file.
